Forbes - about democracy and presidential elections in Ukraine with a record 42 candidates

Democracy is a rather strange phenomenon in the modern world. In America, President Donald Trump recently instigated the longest government shutdown in the country's history. There have been warnings in Britain of possible street riots if the government bows to pressure to allow voters to hold another direct vote on Brexit. And in Ukraine, a record 42 candidates - from a former prime minister to a famous TV star - are vying for the presidency. Elections for a new head of state are scheduled for March 31.

Photos from the personal archive of Vitaly Skotsik

Which of these events is the most and least democratic, depends on your definition and interpretation of democracy, writes in his material for Forbes journalist Andrew Cave.

Take Ukraine. Initially, 92 people applied for participation in elections, but the Central Election Commission refused to register 47 of them, mainly due to the fact that they did not make deposits equivalent to approximately 90 000 dollars each. Three others later withdrew their candidacies.

Restrictions

Despite a wide range of candidates, 12% of voters eligible to vote will not be able to vote because of the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014 and the separatist occupation of certain parts of Donetsk and Lugansk regions. The Central Election Commission closed all five polling stations in Russia on the eve of the vote.

Candidates include current President Petro Poroshenko, Yulia Tymoshenko, twice prime minister of Ukraine, and Vladimir Zelensky, a famous actor. He stars in a popular TV show where he plays a school teacher who becomes president. As luck would have it, the show's final season airs this month.

Unlike these and almost 40 other candidates, Vitaliy Skotsik is a relative newcomer to politics, but he, too, has not been without some controversy.

A businessman who worked at Nature's Way Foods, the American Machine Company and Landkom International, and now a professor at the National University of Biological and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, applied for registration as a presidential candidate in January, noting that his candidacy was nominated by the Agrarian Party, which he headed and raised over the previous four years.

However, the next day, the Agrarian Party stated that he was expelled from its membership last September for "actions that damage the authority and discredit the governing body of the party and the party as a whole."

Unshakable

I interviewed Skotzik earlier this month and he remained steadfast in his presidential ambitions.

“I am not associated with the privileged group of those in power in Ukraine and I am not financed by oligarchs,” he said.

“I am one of 44 candidates in the election, ranging from former political leaders to television celebrities, but the core debate remains the same: how far west should Ukraine look? What is its future as a strong, independent nation? What is her security, vision and hope? We need to build a new democracy by setting clear, achievable priorities for national transformation,” says Skocik.

Firmly believing in the success of personal meetings with the electorate of the country, Scotzik is on his ninth trip to Ukraine in four years.

In April of last year, being the chairman of the Agrarian Party, he helped his organization gain 15,7% of votes in local elections, tripling the support of the party in three years without attracting public finances. Party membership has grown from 1000 to 71 000 members.

He now considers the presidential election the most important in decades. “Our nation is at a crossroads,” he says. “The five-year conflict with Russia has brought unbearable suffering and must end. The paths to the European Union and NATO beckon. But we must also defeat crippling corruption and consolidate our goal of building a sustainable political and economic system and a new national identity.”

Program

Skotsyk is campaigning on the basis of the anti-corruption idea and the “zero declaration” policy, which offers protection from retrospective actions in exchange for further commitment to legitimate, fair and transparent management of its affairs.

He also wants to change the political structure of Ukraine, reform the judicial system and create transparent rules for business and favorable conditions for investment.

He also wants to adopt a new constitution and governing structure for the country, under which Ukraine's 450-member parliament would be divided into two chambers: a lower house of 125 representatives and a 75-member Senate.

At the international level, Skotsyk wants new negotiations with Russia over the end of the five-year war, which, he said, threatens the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, as well as peace and stability in Europe.

“In order to restore the borders of Ukraine, direct negotiations are necessary,” he says, “and interaction with Ukrainians must continue in the occupied territories. We didn’t abandon them.”

He also wants a “mutually beneficial, pragmatic partnership” with the European Union and believes that NATO should also play a clear role in supporting Ukraine’s security and stability.

Feeding Europe

The most radical idea of ​​Skotzik is the opinion that Ukrainian resources can guarantee long-term food security not only within the country, but throughout Europe over the next decade.

“Our agricultural heritage, land and experience allow us to feed more than 500 million people, becoming the world's breadbasket,” he says.

“With government support, developed agribusiness can become our economic cornerstone. Ukraine also needs to move from the production of raw materials to processing, revive mechanical engineering and aircraft manufacturing, and develop its technological sector. Ukraine can be in the top 20 countries in terms of human development if it frees itself from oligarchy, monopolies, corruption and nepotism and becomes independent in the energy sector,” the politician is confident.

With elections in a country like Ukraine, a lot can happen within a month, but Skotsik, whose slogan is: “No one will come to build a state for us,” is right about one thing - on March 31, he says, “Ukraine will have a chance to build a state for myself".

Political observers on both sides of the Atlantic will be watching this process with interest.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Who is such a comedian Zelensky and how he became a favorite of the presidential elections in Ukraine

10 things I miss in New York after living in Ukraine

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