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The price of a ticket to political Olympus
How much does it cost to set up a new party and potentially participate in elections? Methods of creating an effective and dynamic political market in Ukraine.
2 August, 2025
Politics & Law
Governance and Regulations
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Over the past year and a half, the topic of elections has been a recurring theme in Ukraine's information space. Each poll shows a growing share of respondents who support the idea of elections even during the war. And this is not surprising: the war continues without a clear end date, and the number of impoverished Ukrainian families is increasing. The economic situation is deteriorating every quarter, and there are already restrained but alarming expert assessments of a possible economic default of the state.
The problem of more than 7 million Ukrainian refugees remains unresolved — the government has not yet offered effective mechanisms and incentives for their return after the war.
Chronic corruption scandals have been compounded by systemic violations of freedom of speech and civil rights, especially during mobilization activities. The behavior of some representatives of law enforcement agencies towards citizens and entrepreneurs sometimes resembles the actions of organized criminal groups. The authorities' attempts to present such actions as legitimate look unconvincing.
More and more Ukrainians are realizing that the state apparatus — at all levels — is unable to improve the situation significantly, especially in the economy. The only hope left is to fulfill its basic function of defense against external aggression. Therefore, more and more citizens support the idea of elections as a chance to change the political landscape.Share
Are the authorities preparing for the elections?
However, it is not only citizens who are thinking about the elections. The current government, probably under pressure from international partners or to legitimize itself, is also actively preparing. Social media and the media are already publishing paid-for materials about the activities of the ruling political force. Security and government agencies are putting pressure on businesses, political opponents, and civic activists. Critical voices are being purged from the information space. This is reminiscent of the "Kuchma" style of the election preparation. In addition, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No 13464, amending the Electoral Code, which regulates parliamentary elections, by introducing a system of pseudo-open lists similar to the one used during the 2020 local elections.
Will the elections change the political landscape and dismantle the oligarchic-socialist system? Unfortunately, hopes for this are minimal. Under the current political system and the current rules of the game, the elections are not able to bring about significant changes.
Yes, there will be new faces in the parliament, mostly military and volunteers. However, most of them will integrate into old political projects that have never proposed radical institutional reforms. These projects will continue to be controlled by oligarchs, the main beneficiaries of the current system of public resources distribution. A new politician, even one with an impeccable reputation, is unlikely to be able to change the agenda within such a political force. Only the emergence of new political parties formed of new people can give impetus to change.
Is there a chance for Ukrainians to see new faces in the Verkhovna Rada and the government?
On the surface, it seems that political participation in Ukraine is open to everyone. It is enough to create a team, register a party, and start public activities. But in practice, it is almost impossible for new players to break through. Instead of fair competition, there is an “elite club” where new participants are not allowed or are allowed at a very high price. Formally, the requirements for entering the political market appear equal, but in reality, only those with significant resources—financial, administrative, and media—can overcome the obstacles. To enter this closed club, one must either buy out an existing party or incur enormous expenses of time and money to create and register one.
There is no question of equal conditions for political activity in Ukraine at all.
Comparing Ukraine with other countries of the European Union, to which we aspire, it is clear that when entering the political market, we have the most stringent legal requirements and regulations by the state apparatus.
In order to register a party in Ukraine, a minimum of 10,000 signatures must be collected from 2/3 of the regions, which will be checked by the Ministry of Justice officials. In addition to signatures, after state registration, a mandatory condition for its confirmation is the formation and registration of regional organizations in most regions of Ukraine within six months from the date of registration. If this is not done, the preliminary registration will be canceled.
For comparison:
- In Poland, which has less liberal conditions in the EU, it is enough to collect only 1,000 signatures of citizens anywhere in the country. The registration of parties is handled by the court, which enters a political party into the register immediately if the application meets the provisions of the law.
- In Spain, only three founders are required to register a political party. Parties are registered in the Register of Political Parties of the Ministry of the Interior.
- In Germany and France, there is no legal minimum number of members to establish a party.
- In Germany, there is no centralized registration of a party as such; a party is simply founded and recognized for participation in elections by the Federal Election Commission.
- In France, the creation of a political party takes place through a declaration in a prefecture. Interestingly, in this country, the creation of political parties is regulated by the 1901 law on associations. The issue of signatures arises again only during elections: to participate in the presidential election, a party nominee must obtain 500 signatures of elected officials.
As for the documents related to the registration of a political party, all this still remains in an archaic state with paper carriers. It's time to switch to electronic document management. Also, I have always been surprised by the meticulousness of the Ministry of Justice employees who so carefully checked the charters (not only of parties, but also of public organizations or charitable foundations). What difference does it make to the Ministry of Justice what the internal procedures of an organization are? Maybe it would have been better to check the party's program to make sure there were no signs of Nazi and communist ideology. But why check the statutes? Is it only to find formal grounds for refusing to register an organization?
And now the icing on the cake: the state registration of a political party is subject to an administrative fee of 140 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons. In 2025, the subsistence minimum is UAH 3028 ($72). That is, the amount of the administrative fee for 2025 is UAH 423,920 ($10,000). However, in case of denial of state registration, the administrative fee is not refundable.
A fact to ponder: to apply to the state for the establishment of a political party, you need to pay almost half a million hryvnias (already mentioned $10,000).
What are such large sums of money being paid for? And this is not even counting the organizational expenses: collecting signatures, legal preparation of documents, “promotion” in the Ministry of Justice, registration of local branches, and so on. Based on the collected information and personal experience, for the final legalization of a party, even by modest estimates, it is necessary to spend at least 3,000,000 hryvnias ($ 71,400). And then there is the time cost—anywhere from 4 to 6 months. And all this is only before the start of any public activity.
It is no surprise that a shadow market for parties has emerged — “turnkey parties.” Prices are 30–50% lower, and the result is the same. As always, private initiative is more efficient than the state system. You buy a party, change its name, and can start operating. It is better to spend this money on public activities rather than on overcoming absurd conditions and procedures. Those who are now trying to launch a new political project are doing exactly that.
As a result, we have a closed system in Ukraine, where only political projects with millions of dollars in budgets can apply for membership. The conditions for entry are discriminatory and contradict the right to freedom of association guaranteed by the Constitution. As a result, we have no open political competition, which leads to stagnation and a lack of ideological parties.Share
Creating an effective political market in Ukraine: steps
What should be done? It is necessary to simplify the entry into the political market and the conditions for creating parties.
- Replace the collection of 10,000 signatures in 2/3 of the country's regions with signatures from 3 Ukrainian citizens. Eliminate the mandatory requirement to register party branches in most regions within six months. Introduce the same procedure for party branches as for the national party.
- Switch to electronic document flow when registering a political party.
- The following documents are submitted for registration and must be checked by the Ministry of Justice: an application from 3 persons, a protocol of formation, a register and data of the founders, and a party program. The party's charter or bylaws are submitted but not checked by the Ministry of Justice.
- Reduce the period for consideration of a political party registration application to 5 business days.
- Eliminate the administrative fee for registering a political party. Citizens pay enough taxes for a Ministry of Justice employee to simply check the package of documents, which will be significantly reduced after the registration procedure is simplified.
In the future, when real decentralization and regional policy start working in the country, political parties should be registered locally, not in the center, as in Germany or France. The party is founded in the region, and its recognition by the state authorities takes place during the elections, when certain procedures are carried out.
Conclusions
The proposed changes are aimed at liberalizing the legislation and simplifying the conditions for registering political parties. It is possible that this will facilitate the creation of a large number of political parties in the country, including regional ones that are only interested in political life at the regional level. But we should not be afraid of this. The pluralism of parties, including regional ones, is a sign of a healthy democracy and the stability of institutions. There are regional parties in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
This allows us to better represent the interests of different communities, territories, and ideologies.
Such a diverse party spectrum promotes political competition, transparency, and elite renewal..
Ukraine needs an open and multi-voiced political field capable of responding flexibly to public demands and ensuring regular renewal of power in line with changes in the mood of citizens. Only such a system guarantees genuine political competition, participation of new ideas and leaders, and brings us closer to a mature democracy.
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Topics
Politics & Law
Governance and Regulations
Trending
Election in Ukraine 2025
Ukrainian Judiciary
Mykhailo Kamchatnyi
An expert consultant in political, electoral, and information technologies. He has many years of experience in public and political life, as well as in the non-state sector. The founder of a number of liberal organizations. Director of the International Liberty Institute (ILI).
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