The Consequences of the Transformation of the Electoral System Regarding Recruitment to the Political-Power Elites of Ukraine

Abstract

The article analyzes the transformation of the electoral system of Ukraine during the years of state independence. The influence of electoral systems on the recruitment of the political elite is considered. The evolution of the electoral system underwent significant legislative changes almost for every parliamentary election, partly local elections. The electoral system was tested in the electoral process in the form of majoritarian, proportional and mixed. During election campaigns, the structuring mechanism in Ukraine should create a relationship between electoral preferences and the party structure of the parliament. It was found that the change in the electoral system transforms the mechanisms of recruitment to the political-power elites. As a result of the local elections on October 25, 2020, the candidates were mostly deputies who received a mandate from the party, while not even overcoming the electoral quota. The electoral system guaranteed the seats of deputies to the candidates who were in the first positions in the all-party lists, provided that their party passed the electoral barrier. The new administrative-territorial division in Ukraine reduced the number of administrative units and the number of local deputies. It was analyzed that a proportional electoral system with open regional lists would be optimal for Ukraine at the moment. The President of Ukraine V. Zelenskyi proposed a draft law on reducing the number of parliamentarians to three hundred, which remained a decision without its practical implementation. The decrease in the number of people's deputies in the Ukrainian parliament requires further research. The conclusion is substantiated that it is necessary to raise the level of the electoral barrier, to elect political parties on ideological grounds, and to structure the chambers of the Ukrainian parliament into a bicameral parliament. As a result, this would help increase the structure of the parliament and normalize the ways of entering the political elite in Ukraine.