Spade (political party)

All-Ukrainian Agrarian Association "Spade"
Всеукраїнський аграрний об'єднання "заступ"
LeaderVira Ulianchenko
Founded4 May 2011
IdeologyAgrarianism[1]
Decentralization[2]
Economic nationalism[2]
Political positionLeft-wing[3]
Verkhovna Rada
0 / 450

All-Ukrainian Agrarian Association "Spade" (Ukrainian: Заступ, Zastup) is a Ukrainian political party registered on 4 May 2011.[4]

Its name is an obsolete form that means "spade".[4] Zastup is also a portmanteau standing for Za Sotsialnu Trudovu Ukrainsku Perspektyvu, meaning For Social Laborious Ukrainian Perspective.

The party's former name was "People's Initiative" (Ukrainian: Народна ініціатива).[4][5] The party is led by Vira Ulianchenko, who is a former head of Ukraine's Presidential Administration.[4][6]

It participated in the 2014 election to the Verkhovna Rada.[4][7] The party won one seat when its unaffiliated candidate Valeriy Davydenko won in the 208th single-member constituency located in Bakhmach.[8] He won with 38.86% of the vote.[8] Davydenko later joined the parliamentary faction of Petro Poroshenko Bloc.[9] Davydenko was re-elected, after again a win in the 208th constituency (with 37,43% of the vote) but this time as an independent candidate, in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[10]

Ideology

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The party focuses on agrarian issues as well as decentralization, believing that in Ukraine, self-governing communities should be given extensive autonomy, especially the cultural and fiscal one; similarly, the party proposes delegating central power as close as possible to a citizen level, and moving some governmental institutions out of Kyiv.[2] The party is considered left-wing.[3]

Zastup argues that Ukrainian should be the sole Ukrainian language of Ukraine, while also stressing the need to invest in agrarian education, particularly in agricultural science and modern farming methods.[2]

On the issue of the European Union, the party believes that "Europe is the Ukrainian choice, but entering the united Europe should take place on advantageous conditions".[2]

On agriculture, the party advocates for an extensive spending program that would provide an incentive for living in rural areas, such as improving the quality of rurak municipal services and allocating up to 25% of local budgets to the development on the countryside. According to the party, organic manufacturing should be given extensive state support, along with high added value to agricultural commodities. The party also proposes a "Soil Fertility Protection" plan that would help maintain good soil quality, as well as an act that will break down agricultural monopolies and limit large landowners.[2]

Election results

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Verkhovna Rada

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Election year # of
constituency votes 		% of
constituency votes 		# of
party list votes 		% of
party list votes 		# of
overall seats won 		+/–
2014 134,418 0.89 417,396 2.65
1 / 450
 Increase 1
2019 Did not run
0 / 450
 Decrease 1

References

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  1. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2014). "Ukraine". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Party System of Ukraine Before and After Maidan: Changes, Trends, Public Demand". National Security & Defence. 6–7. Razumkov Centre: 155–156. 2015.
  3. ^ a b Podolian, Olena (2020). The Challenge of ‘Stateness’ in Estonia and Ukraine (PDF). Sodertorn University. p. 225. ISBN 978-91-89109-12-4. ISSN 1652-7399.
  4. ^ a b c d e (in Russian) List of parties in the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, ITAR-TASS (24 October 2014)
  5. ^ (in Ukrainian) Election information, DA-TA
  6. ^ Yushchenko appoints Vera Ulyanchenko as head of his secretariat, UNIAN (May 20, 2009)
  7. ^ Poroshenko Bloc candidates leading in 64 single-seat constituencies - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (27 October 2014)
  8. ^ a b Data on vote counting at precincts within single-mandate districts Extraordinary parliamentary election on 26.10.2014 Archived October 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  9. ^ "Офіційний портал Верховної Ради України". w1.c1.rada.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 2016-09-23.
  10. ^ "На 208-м округе в Черниговской области "слугу народа" Панченко опередил нардеп Давыденко".
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