Party of Regions - History - Yanukovych Presidency

Yanukovych Presidency

See also: Ukrainian presidential election, 2010

The Party of Regions endorsed Viktor Yanukovych as their candidate for the 2010 presidential election. The party indented to create a new coalition in the Verkhovna Rada and form a new government if Yanukovych would win the 2010 presidential elections. Yanukovych was elected President of Ukraine on February 7, 2010. On February 19 the Ukrainian parliament terminated the powers of Ukrainian Member of Parliament (MP) Yanukovych, in his place #179th on the electoral list of the Party of Regions at the 2007 early parliamentary elections Tamara Yehorenko was registered as an MP by the Central Election Commission of Ukraine on February 26. On March 3 Ukrainian President Yanukovych suspended his membership in the Party (Yanukovych was barred by the Constitution from heading a political party) and handed over leadership in the party and in the parliamentary faction to Mykola Azarov, 9 days later Azarov handed it to Oleksandr Yefremov. On March 11, 2010 together with Bloc Lytvyn and Communist Party of Ukraine the party joined the first Azarov Government

The party elected a new leader at its 12th congress on April 23, 2010. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was elected.

Seven extra deputies (four Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) members) joined the Party of Regions faction in October 2010. In March 2011 five more former BYuT deputies joined the faction. By late November 2012 the Party of Regions faction consisted of 195 lawmakers (20 more then the 175 elected in September 2007).

During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections the party won majorities on most regional and city councils as well as most of the mayoralties (except in western Ukraine), and in the 2010 Crimean parliamentary election (where it won over 70% of the seats). It was the only party that did win representatives in all Ukrainian Oblasts where elections where held and it won in all but 4 Oblasts of those Oblasts the most votes (the 4 Oblasts where it didn't where situated in Western Ukraine).

In September 2010, the party was planning to sign a memorandum on cooperation with China's Communist Party. In 14 October 2010, the Party of Regions formed a co-operative arrangement a with the Socialists and Democrats European parliamentary group.

President Yanukovych and the Party of Regions have been accused of trying to create a "controlled democracy" in Ukraine and as a means to this are trying to "destroy" main opposition party BYuT, but both have denied this charges.