Brian Mefford: Special elections & Health Ministry sickness

Special Elections on Sunday in 7 Districts: Parliament is holding special elections to fill vacancies in seven districts across the country on July 17th. The vacancies were created due to ministerial appointments, elections to other offices, and a death. The special elections will take place in Volyn District #23 (villages around Manevychi), Dnipropetrovsk District #27 (October Rayon of Dnipropetrovsk City), Ivano Frankivsk District #85 (Kalush City), Luhansk District #114 in Stanytsya Luhanska, Poltava District #151 (town of Lokhvytsya), Kherson District #183 (Korabelnoy Rayon in Kherson City), and Chernihiv District #206 (Chernihiv City). The special elections have caused Parliament to postpone a vote on new members of the Central Election Commission which was originally planned in late June. To avoid having new members managing the elections, the term of the current members has been de facto extended (12 of 15 members had their terms expire in June 2015) until autumn when Parliament reconvenes for its next session.