Political party Democratic Alliance has announced that it is uniting with the Samopomich party and that Samopomich’s leader, current Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, will be the joint candidate at the presidential elections from the two parties.
Speaking at a joint press briefing on Oct. 9, Democratic Alliance party leader Vasyl Hatsko announced Sadovyi would represent both parties at the presidential elections in the spring of 2019.
“We don’t want to be yet another party that just participates in elections, we want to win,” Hatsko told the Kyiv Post, commenting on Sadovyi’s nomination. “In order to win, there should be one candidate from several political powers. And we had to put forward a person who’s recognizable and trusted.”
He said the party’s choice had narrowed to three people: Sadovyi, the leader of the Civil Position party Anatoliy Hrytsenko, and the famous Ukrainian musician Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, who hasn’t yet said if he will run for president.
The parties also signed a memorandum about political unity, which could also boost both parties’ chances at the parliament elections next autumn, according to Hatsko.
“Unification is a real way to win at the parliament elections, form a parliament, and change Ukraine,” he said. “We wanted to build a country of the middle class, of educated, wealthy and happy people over the next 10 years. Our political alliance with Samopomich is the first step to increasing our chances to bring these ideas to life.”
Both parties will now try to convince all other “Ukrainian democratic powers” to follow them endorsing Sadovyi, he said.
However, during the briefing, Sadovyi claimed Civil Position’s Hrytsenko was unlikely to join them, as the Samopomich leader has been trying unsuccessfully to form an alliance with Hrytsenko for the last “six or so years.”
Sadovyi also shared his goals for the parliament elections: “Our task is to win a majority in the next parliament. Only then can we bring about serious change,” he said.
In May, Hrytsenko also proposed that all democratic, opposition parties join forces ahead of the elections. He said Samopomich, Democratic Alliance as well as People’s Control, the Movement of New Forces, the European Party of Ukraine and several others parties could form an alliance. However, nothing came of the proposal.
In September, Sadovyi said his party would participate in the parliamentary elections next year, while in early October he announced he would run for president.
