Platform for Life and Peace

Platform for Life and Peace
Платформа за життя та мир
AbbreviationPZZhM or PLP
LeaderYuriy Boyko
FounderYuriy Boyko
Founded21 April 2022 (2022-04-21)
Preceded byOpposition Platform — For Life
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left
Verkhovna Rada
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Platform for Life and Peace (Ukrainian: Платформа за життя та мир, romanizedPlatforma za zhyttia ta myr, pronounced [pɫɐtˈfɔrmɐ za ʒeˈtʲːa ta mɪr]; PZZhM/ПЗЖМ) is a parliamentary group in Ukraine created after the ban on the Opposition Platform — For Life and the dissolution of the parliamentary group of the same name following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[3][4]

History

After the events of Euromaidan, the Party of Regions de-facto ceased to exist, most of its former members founded the Opposition Bloc.[5]

In the 2014 parliamentary elections, the Opposition Bloc took 4th place, gaining 9.43% of the votes and receiving 31 seats in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the VIII convocation.

In November 2018, For Life and the Opposition Bloc united into the Opposition Platform - For Life, however, disagreements that arose on the basis of this inter-party association led to a split in the ranks of the Opposition Bloc and the exit of Yevheniy Murayev from the For Life party, who created his own political force Nashi.[6]

In the 2019 presidential elections, the OPZZh candidate Yuriy Boyko took 4th place, receiving the support of 11.67% of voters (2,206,216 votes). In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the Opposition Platform - For Life received 13.05% support (1,908,087 votes) on party lists, and 6 candidates also qualified in majoritarian constituencies. Thus, the party received 44 seats in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 9th convocation.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, OPZZh took a pro-Ukrainian position,[7] although collaboration was widespread among party members.[8]

Opposition Platform – For Life was one of several political parties suspended by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on 20 March 2022, along with Derzhava, Left Opposition, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Party of Shariy, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialist Party of Ukraine, Union of Leftists, and the Volodymyr Saldo Block.[9][10]

At the 24 March 2022 parliamentary sitting, five MPs announced their resignation from the Opposition Platform – For Life faction. Meanwhile parliament itself was consulting with the Ministry of Justice on actions against the party's remaining deputies, as Ukrainian law did not provide for a single mechanism for suspending the activities of the party represented in parliament.[11]

On 14 April 2022, the party's parliamentary group was dissolved in Ukraine's parliament.[12]

The group was created on April 21, 2022, with Yuriy Boyko as its leader.[13]

The group explicitly announced that it did not include Viktor Medvedchuk, Vadim Rabinovich, Vadim Stolar, and their supporters, who had belonged to the prior Opposition Platform — For Life party.[14] Some of these politicians had left Ukraine before the invasion started,[15] or are perceived as proxies for Russia within Ukraine.[16]

Policies

Before its ban, OPZZh was a pro-Russian party and adhered to some premises of social democracy.[17]

According to Yuriy Boyko, the group contains "deputies willing to work for protecting Ukraine, helping the people, and rebuilding our country".[14]

The group supports the accession of Ukraine to the European Union[18][19][20][2] and Ukraine's accession to NATO.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Лідер ОПЗЖ розповів, що робитиме після заборони партії". UA.NEWS (in Ukrainian). 2022-07-11. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2023-01-19. Boyko stated that the deputy group headed by him wants to concentrate on the issues of "building the country's economy and protecting people's social and economic rights." "If you want to be more formal, this is the path of social democrats, but without elements of liberalism, which significantly damaged our economy even before the war"— Yuri Boyko
  2. ^ a b ""Путин разрушил мой город", - Бойко из запрещенной партии удивил заявлением о войне. ВИДЕО". From-UA (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  3. ^ Нардепи з ОПЗЖ вирішили назватись ПЗЖМ, Українська правда, 21 квітня 2022
  4. ^ "Нардепы из "ОПЗЖ" создали группу "ПЗЖМ"". Никвести.
  5. ^ "Чем отличается "Оппозиционный блок" от Партии регионов?". BBC News Україна (in Russian). 2014-09-23. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  6. ^ "Чем вызван раскол в украинском "Оппозиционном блоке" – DW – 21.11.2018". dw.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  7. ^ "Остался один фронтмен – Бойко: зачем нардепы из ОПЗЖ решили назваться ПЗЖМ". 24 Канал (in Russian). 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  8. ^ "Корниенко рассказал о депутатах-коллаборантах в местных советах, большинство которых из "ОПЗЖ"". www.unian.net (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  9. ^ "NSDC bans pro-Russian parties in Ukraine". www.ukrinform.net. 2022-03-20. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  10. ^ "As it happened: Ukraine war latest: Resilience making Russia assess reality, negotiator says". BBC News. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  11. ^ "5 нардепів ОПЗЖ вийшли зі складу фракції". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  12. ^ "Parliament dissolves pro-Russian Opposition Platform faction following Security Council ban". The Kyiv Independent. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  13. ^ "Нардепы Верховной Рады из ОПЗЖ переехали в ПЗЖМ – Левый берег". Archived from the original on 2023-01-15. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  14. ^ a b "Twenty-five Ukrainian MPs set up new group called Platform for Life and Peace". interfax.com. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  15. ^ Свобода, Радіо (15 March 2022). "В ОПЗЖ розповіли, скільки чинних та колишніх її депутатів – поза межами України під час війни". Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  16. ^ "Кремль без рук, або Як розвалилась ОПЗЖ". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  17. ^ "Що обіцяє виборцям «Опозиційна платформа — за життя». Експертний аналіз програми". tvoemisto.tv. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  18. ^ Дорофейчук, Ирина (2022-06-19). "Бойко назвал хорошим сигналом обещание лидеров ЕС дать Украине статус кандидата в члены союза". Archived from the original on 2022-08-10. Retrieved 2023-01-20. Boyko called the promise of EU leaders to give Ukraine the status of a candidate member of the union a good signal (Title Translation)
  19. ^ "Бойко и посол ЕС обсудили создание органа, который будет заниматься переселенцами". 2022-05-24. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved 2023-01-20. Boyko and the EU Ambassador discussed the creation of a body that will deal with IDPs (Title Translation)
  20. ^ Середа, Софія. "Підтримують Зеленського і курс на ЄС та планують ребрендинг: як живе ОПЗЖ після розколу і заборони?" [They support Zelensky and the course towards the EU and plan rebranding: how does OPZZh live after the split and the ban?]. Archived from the original on 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  21. ^ "Офіційний портал Верховної Ради України". w1.c1.rada.gov.ua. Retrieved 2023-09-30.