Half of parliament’s 450 seats will be chosen from these party lists; voters will choose the other half in head-to-head races in 225 districts.

The process by which the party conventions chose candidates is worrisome, and reveals a dearth of new faces as well as a bankruptcy of fresh ideas or honest discourse.

Many candidates for the proportional party lists were chosen in secrecy. Even other party members were kept in the dark. Journalists had to rely on leaks to figure out who made the pro-presidential Party of Regions’ list of top 100 candidates. Nataliya Korolevska – who positions herself as a progressive – only revealed her party’s top 10 list.

Moreover, only two forces on the political landscape offer a true alternative to President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions: the United Opposition and Vitali Klitschko’s UDAR party, who has some appealing new faces, such as small business advocate Oksana Prodan. The United Opposition is led by imprisoned former Prime  Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, ex-Parliamentary Speaker Arseniy Yatseniuk and Anatolity Hrytsenko.

This observation is not an endorsement of any political party. In keeping with publisher Mohammad Zahoor’s non-partisan policy, the Kyiv Post will not endorse anyone in the Oct. 28 election. But like any good newspaper, we will illuminate the voters’ choices.

If Ukrainians like how things currently stand, they should vote for the Party of Regions. If they don’t, they should vote for the United Opposition or UDAR.

The other three serious contenders — the Communist Party, Nataliya Korolevska’s Ukraine-Forward Party and Oleh Tyahnybok’s Svoboda Party – are suspicious.

The Communist Party is part of the pro-presidential ruling coalition, so its members are hardly an alternative to anybody in power. Korolevska’s emergence,  combined with her multimillion-dollar advertising campaign and generous access to government-friendly media, doesn’t pass the smell test.

While she positions herself as a “third force’’ – neither in power nor in opposition – it looks like she’s a sanctioned opposition figure. Her candidacy appears designed to siphon votes from those opposed to the Party of Regions. Svoboda Party has long been suspected of being in league with the powers that be, using their radical nationalism and xenophobia to attract malcontents.

No matter who wins, it is hard to see positive changes coming from any of the six parties since their lists are populated with the same old politicians who have been touting the same tired ideas for so long that their credibility is severely eroded.