elected in September 2007). During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections the party won majorities on most regional and city councils as well as most of the mayoralties (except in Western Ukraine), and in the 2010 Crimean parliamentary election (where it won over 70% of the seats). It was the only party that won representatives in all Ukrainian oblasts where elections were held, and it won the most votes in all but four of those oblasts (the four oblasts where it did not were situated in Western Ukraine). In Crimea, particularly in 2010–2014, the Party of Regions was nicknamed "Makedonians" because the Crimean Prime Ministers Vasyl Dzharty and Anatolii Mohyliov were associated with the "Makiivka-Donetsk clan." In September 2010, the party was planning to sign a memorandum on cooperation with China's Communist Party. On 14 October 2010, the Party of Regions formed a co-operative arrangement with the Socialists and Democrats European parliamentary group. President Yanukovych and the Party of Regions have been accused of trying to create a "controlled democracy" in Ukraine and as a means to this of trying to "destroy" the main opposition party BYuT, but both have denied these charges. 2012 Parliamentary Election results In August 2011 Strong Ukraine and People's Party announced that both parties aimed to merge with the Party of Regions. The merger between People's Party and Party of Regions did not materialise. Strong Ukraine and Party of Regions merged on 17 March 2012. (Former) Strong Ukraine leader Serhiy Tyhypko was unanimously elected Party of Regions deputy chairman and member of the Party of Regions political council the same day. Party of Regions parliamentarian Olena Bondarenko had stated (early March 2012) that Party of Regions, Strong Ukraine party and "another party" planned to hold a unity congress on 17 March 2012. No additional third party merged with the Party of Regions on 17 March 2012; according to Ukrainian media Tyhypko had personally prevented a merger of United Centre with the Party of Regions in March 2012. In October 2011 a cooperation agreement was signed in Astana between the Kazakhstani Nur Otan and the Party of Regions. In late 2011, the party's popularity dropped in opinion polls below 20%, mainly because the party was losing votes to the Communist Party of Ukraine. In April 2012, the top PR consultancy Burson-Marsteller was hired to represent the interests of the Party of Regions, "to help them communicate its