The Central Election Commission of Ukraine (CEC) at a meeting on Friday decided to hold the first elections of deputies of 119 regional councils on Oct. 25, 2020.
“The decision was made by the Commission in order to ensure the electoral rights of citizens, adhering to the principles and foundations of the electoral process, based on the principle of the rule of law,” the CEC press service said.
It is noted that the existence of grounds for the CEC to appoint elections of deputies to district councils on a new territorial basis is indicated in the letter of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning dated August 13.
In the corresponding letter, also published by the CEC press service, it is noted that the provision of Article 194 of the Electoral Code of Ukraine on the existence of a “decision on the creation of regional, district councils” cannot be applied, since it is not based either on the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine, or on the norms of the law on local self-government and other laws and is contained only in this document. At the same time, the committee came to the conclusion that, in accordance with the electoral legislation and taking into account the provisions of Part 9 of Article 194 of the Electoral Code of Ukraine, the body authorized to submit an appeal to the CEC on the appointment of the first elections of deputies to district councils is the Ministry of Community Development and Territories of Ukraine.
“On August 14, 2020, the Commission received a letter from the Ministry for the Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, to which, in particular, a list of regional councils has been added,” the CEC reported.
