At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Ukraine

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Leonid D. KUCHMA
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Viktor YANUKOVYCH
• Assembly: Ukraine has a unicameral Supreme Council (Verkhovna Rada) with 450 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
• In the Supreme Council (Verkhovna Rada), 225 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms and 225 members are allocated by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Third Round of the Presidential race:

• Viktor YANUKOVICH
  • Party: Regions of Ukraine
• Viktor YUSHCHENKO
  • Party: Our Ukraine

Last Presidential election:

• Presidential elections were last held on October 31 and November 14, 1999. In this election, Leonid D. KUCHMA became president by winning 57.7% of the votes in the second round, while Petro SYMONENKO secured 38.8% of the votes.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 47,451,600 (2004)
• Registered Voters: 37,613,022 (2004)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 25,428,511 (2004)

·         Is Ukraine a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Ukraine ratified CEDAW: Yes (12 March 1981)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 24 (following the 2002 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 81 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Ukraine a signatory to CRPD: Yes (24 September 2008)

·         Has Ukraine ratified CRPD: Yes (4 February 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 7,117,740 (est.)