Where: Novograd-Volynskiy, Zhytomyr Oblast
Polling stations: 279
Number of voters: 160,539
Number of candidates: 7
Remarks: Home base of Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn
It’s no accident
that this constituency in central Ukraine has just half the regular
number of candidates compared to the national average in 225
constituencies. Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn is a native of
this area. He’s been throwing money at it for years to prepare a
good landing platform for this election, so few candidates believe
they have a chance.
More than 42 percent
of the voters are prepared to support him here, according to a local
poll by Sotsintel Institute conducted this month. The next strongest
candidate, Batkivshchyna member and retired colonel Vitaliy Frantsuz,
is lagging way behind with 17.6 percent of support.
Lytvyn’s People’s
Party is a part of the pro-government majority along with the
pro-presidential Party of Regions and Communist Party. But his party
has lost popularity and has chosen not to run in the proportional
race.
Lytvyn’s chosen
majority constituency covers the town of Novograd-Volynskiy, and four
districts in Zhytomyr Oblast. They all have received unprecedented
subsidies from the national budget this year, courtesy of Lytvyn –
Hr 95 million, as a result of the budgeting process and amendments
made to the budget in April.
Leading online
newspaper Ukrainska Pravda also conducted
an investigation earlier this year, which showed that Lytvyn made at
least 17 business trips to his constituency between July 2011 and May
2012 on taxpayers money, a fact that the Verkhovna Pada staff
confirmed in a written statement to the paper.
On these trips
Lytvyn met with teachers and medical
workers and doled out little gifts like bicycles for local medical
workers, according to media reports.
