The victory of Oleksander Tretyak in the Nov. 22 mayoral runoff in Rivne, home to 244,000 people located 328 kilometers west of Kyiv, is a sign of hope in Ukraine’s political milieu.
It proved that a “values-based” political campaign that demanded honesty and integrity in politics, the essential need for transparency in governing in the battle against corruption, the imperative of changing the governing culture, the need for volunteerism and citizen participation in local governance, is a message that strongly resonates within the Ukrainian electorate and can lead to electoral victory.
Tretyak’s presence in the runoff was a surprise to the entrenched regions and nation’s political elite, and his victory, both a confirmation and strong reminder to the political establishment for the need to restore a transformative ‘change” narrative in both local and national politics.
Prior to his result in the first round, support for him from the entrenched political class was tepid and not immediately forthcoming. Tretyak’s success was a source of bewilderment that raised the question – “What do we make of this political outsider?” He was perceived as an unknown threat.
By noon, the day after the election in round one, he had been indirectly contacted for a meeting with Rivne’s alleged crime boss. He was also made aware of emanating physical threats necessitating personal security, and numerous offers of financial support from business interests. Tretyak declined all offers.
In the period before round two, he was the subject of a well-planned and malicious effort to malign him because of his Protestant religious beliefs. He faced excessive campaign spending by his opponent in an attempt to “buy” the election. During election day, information was discovered that a number of Heads of polling districts would be rewarded with money if they “delivered” their polls to his opponent.
Tretyak’s message for Rivne was a modern and essentially a democratic one. He inspired and shifted the political discussion for the need to focus political and governing efforts that would aid individuals in the fulfillment of their potential. He campaigned on the importance to develop his city where people could experience comfort and safety, a higher ‘quality of life’ inspired with a vision of making Rivne a European city. He centered the political discussion on the individual’s quality of life.
But the uniqueness of his message was that he spoke of the need to create an environment and infrastructure, a new culture, that would focus on building a new foundation based on values and promoting individual and city growth. To do so, he promised to employ and incorporate professionals into the governing structure of his administration, while creating opportunities for volunteers in civil society to contribute to the development of the city.
In a short post-electoral discussion, the religious academic and educational administrator, serving close to 500 students, said that he interpreted his electoral victory on two levels. The first is an affirmation of the continued desire of electors for a new way of doing politics in Ukraine, rejecting the corrupt practices in governance that held back the pursuit of individual growth. The second, that his victory could be considered, in a small way, much like Luther’s “Reformation,” a local revolution based on a core set of values and beliefs, that suggests the possibility of establishing a new ethos in Ukrainian civic life.
If anything, Tretyak’s rhetorical and electoral victory suggests the awareness within the electorate of the importance of establishing governing practices on a solid base of ‘first principles’, such as honesty and transparency, not only the condemnation of corrupt practices, but the need for a concise plan to rid the government of criminal behavior, but also the recognition that governing decisions must be inspired by the needs and aspirations of individual citizens.
Tretyak’s electoral victory was a rejection of the tradition of “politics as business” by Ukraine’s electorate which his opponents were known to practice. It was an electoral confirmation that there must be a separation of the practice of politics and the pursuit of selfish business interests and that political office can no longer be an entrée or an opportunity to rape public budgets or to benefit from public procurement.
Furthermore, his victory illustrates that people still demand and expect a form of good government and that despite the failure of politicians to deliver on such promises, that expectation still remains.
They understand, and have confirmed, that only a new generation of politicians, with good character, inspired by wholesome values, will have any chance of delivering on good government. They want the practitioners of the old values to be purged and cast aside.
Tretyak’s election proved that money is not the sole determining factor for electoral victory.
The electorate confirmed that they want to live by European standards.
The political debate in Rivne revealed that citizens will positively respond to “calls” of individual responsibility and to participate in civic society. They want to participate in the governance of their city and they want to be given the opportunity to use their individual talents in building their city
But perhaps most importantly, Tretyak’s victory illustrates the belief and understanding amongst the electorate that their future is dependent on the establishment and practice of “good” values and that the moral character of the politicians that represent them, must be of a high standard.
Tretyak has been provided a mandate to change the political and governing culture of a city. He will be judged on this matrix and his success will be based on his ability to translate his campaign rhetoric into meaningful institutional structural change that will establish a new ethos of governance that will hopefully act as a model for changes at other levels of government throughout Ukraine.
