Group of 239

Ukrainian parliamentary election, 1990

← 1985 Two ballots held from March 4–18, 1990 1994 →
All 450 seats of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR 226 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Volodymyr Ivashko Ihor Yukhnovsky Party Communist Party Democratic Bloc Leader since 1989 1989 Last election 450 did not run Seats won 331 111 Seat change -119 +111
Chairman of Parliament before election Platon Kostiuk Communist Party Elected Chairman of Parliament Volodymyr Ivashko Communist Party

Platon Kostiuk
Communist Party

Volodymyr Ivashko
Communist Party

The first relatively freeparliamentary election held in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR) took place in several stages, from March 4 to March 18, 1990. The elections were held to elect deputies to the republic's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. Simultaneously, elections of local provincial ("oblast'") councils also took place in their respective administrative divisions.

The election was the closest thing to a free election Ukraine had seen since the unfinished 1918 Constituent Assembly elections. Although the electoral campaign was far from being clear and transparent, representatives of the Democratic Bloc were the first to provide a legal challenge to the authority of the Communist Party of the Ukrainian SSR in parliament. A total of 442 National Deputies were elected – short of the 450 seat total, due to low voter turnout.

The parliamentary convocation that convened after the 1990 election declared the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991. Later on, an amendment to the official number of parliamentary convocations recognized this 12th Convocation of the Parliament of the Ukrainian SSR as the first Parliament of Ukraine of the 1st Convocation.

In the wake of Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika, the Law on Elections – adopted on October 27, 1989 – included provisions for direct elections of individuals (as opposed to group representation of civic organizations), the need for alternative (non-Communist) candidates, the elimination of a requirement for nomination meetings, and other relatively democratic provisions. However, the elections were far from being free – as the Communist Party retained control on the media, exerted political influence, and had a large financial resource base.

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