Political party “UDAR (Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms) of Vitali Klitschko”
Main information
“UDAR is a Ukrainian political party led by Vitali Klitschko, a former boxer and current mayor of Kyiv. In the last elections of 2020, the party became one of the favorites in local elections in Kyiv and the region, but failed in other regions.
Registration: March 14, 2005
Website: klichko.org
Political ideology: Euro-Atlanticism
Party leader: Vitali Klitschko
Party history.
- For the party leader, UDAR was not a political start. In 2002, he and his brother campaigned for the Unity party, headed by the then-mayor of Kyiv, Oleksandr Omelchenko.
- The party’s activities began in 2005. That was the first time Klitschko ended his career and tried his hand at politics. The new political project was given a loud name with a strong association with boxing and the legendary champion himself (later, the Voice party would be created using a similar scheme). UDAR was registered on March 14, 2005 (co-founded by Vitali Klitschko and influential Kyiv politician Volodymyr Bondarenko), but for a long time the political brand was waiting for its moment.
- Initially, the party was created for the 2006 mayoral elections in Kyiv. However, Klitschko ran for office under the popular brand “Pora — PRP”. The young politician considered the incumbent mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko to be his main rival and built his campaign accordingly. However, Leonid Chernovetskyi, a boxer, won quite unexpectedly, finishing second and gaining 35 thousand votes more than Omelchenko. His second attempt to become mayor of Kyiv was also unsuccessful, as Klitschko finished third.
- In April 2010, during an extraordinary congress of the New Country party (originally the European Capital party of Kyiv businessman Lev Partskhaladze, which nominated actress Olga Sumska for mayor in 2006 ), the participants decided to rename it the UDAR (Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms) of Vitali Klitschko.
- On July 7, 2010, the new name was registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
- On April 16, 2020, Vitali Klitschko once again headed the UDAR party. The signatory was Volodymyr Bondarenko, an advisor to the mayor who is a subject of a journalistic anti-corruption investigation for holding the position of deputy mayor with a fake university degree.
- The party’s congress was held on March 15, 2020, behind closed doors, in compliance with quarantine measures, without the media, and with the participation of 31 delegates.
- Before the early parliamentary elections in 2019, Klitschko announced that he would lead his UDAR party to the polls. The mayor’s brother, Volodymyr Klitschko, was supposed to lead the party list. However, Klitschko Jr. did not have time to complete his business before July 21, 2019, to fully enter politics. Because of this, Vitali Klitschko negotiated a unification with Saakashvili, but these conversations were also fruitless.
- In July 2021 , the Ridnyi Dim party of Chernihiv Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko and the UDAR party of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko signed a cooperation agreement. This happened during the Unity Forum held in Chernihiv. Before that, he was Atroshenko’s deputy,
- On December 1, 2021, Oleksandr Lomako became the head of the Chernihiv regional organization of the UDAR political party.
- On February 9, 2022 , the Central Election Commission officially registered Lomako as a candidate for the midterm elections to the Verkhovna Rada in constituency 206 from the UDAR party.
Composition of the batch:
The main composition of the party:
- Klitschko Vitaliy Volodymyrovych (Leader)
- Gataullina Olena Aukhativna (Deputy Chairman of the party)
- Maria Ionova (Deputy Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the party)
- Prodan Oksana Petrivna (Member of the Political Council of the Party)
- Gataullina Olena Aukhativna (Member of the Political Council of the Party)
Finance and scandals:
- Socialist Yevhen Filindash, MP of Ukraine of IV-V convocations, criticized the UDAR party for “turning into a nationalist force, pursuing right-wing ideology and recruiting the closest associates of ex-President Yushchenko”. In addition, the socialist does not support Georgian reforms, which party leader Vitali Klitschko holds up as an example to follow.
- Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said that the inclusion of radical nationalists in the party’s list of candidates for the Verkhovna Rada was a mistake by Vitali Klitschko, as their rhetoric would not find support among residents of the southeastern regions.
- The newspaper “Express” accuses Vitali Klitschko of deliberately including in the party list a fraudster Yaroslav Hinka, whose actions the newspaper reported before the election and who nevertheless became a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 7th convocation on the UDAR list under No. 20. The newspaper also accuses Yaroslav Dubnevych, the only self-nominated candidate who won a parliamentary mandate in Lviv region, of intending to join his faction in the 7th Verkhovna Rada, by dubious means, having defeated the united opposition candidate Tetyana Chornovil in the election race in constituency 120, and the owner, together with his brother Bohdan, a deputy of the Lviv Regional Council, of the Corporation “Track Repair Technologies” LLC, which is a defendant in the corruption “Billion Dollar Case”. According to the newspaper, Yaroslav Dubnevych announced his intention to join the UDAR faction, and Pavlo Rozenko, a member of the 7th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the UDAR list under No. 10, confirmed his presence at the meeting of the UDAR party MPs, although he denied that he had joined the faction, as this issue was not considered at the meeting. On December 11, 2012 the existence of Dubnevych’s application to join the UDAR faction was confirmed by the website “Ukrainska Pravda” with reference to “Channel 5”.
Representation in the regions:
Party rating:
