Журнал Viche 2013 №5

№5, 2013

Mayoral elections in Kyiv should consist of two rounds

Participants of the “round table” organized by the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on state building and local self-government discussed major organizational, legal and financial principles of local self-government in Kyiv, and also problems of the legislative background for conducting the elections to Kyiv City Council and Kyiv City Chairman.

– Elections in the capital of Ukraine can be arranged at the end of May – beginning of June, 2013. In my opinion, the elections of deputies to Kyiv Council  should be conducted according to the mixed majority-proportional system, and elections of Kyiv City Chairman should be based on the majority system of absolute majority, that is within two rounds, – stated Chairman of the Committee on state building and local self-government Davyd ZHVANIYA (electoral district #140, Odesa region).

– Serious working group should be created and a good conceptual draft law on the capital of Ukraine should be prepared, where the management system in Kyiv will be clearly described. From our point of view, there should be one council in one territorial society, but the representative office of executive structures should reach almost every micro district, – marked vice-president of Association of cities of Ukraine Myroslav PITTSCYK.

– Self-government in Kyiv had practically disappeared after the district councils were cancelled and Kyiv City Council was transferred to the authority which combined representative and regulatory development functions, – marked folk deputy of Ukraine, chairman of the Sub-Committee on electoral legislation Volodymyr BONDARENKO (electoral district #219, Kyiv).

–– In Kyiv the key for local self-government principle of organizational, legal and financial independence does not work absolutely, – marked head of the Local Self-Government Center Oleksandr BATANOV.

–Finally it should be clearly defined and written down in a bill what functions are to be considered by the capital in Kyiv. And they should be carried out by the executive power, – noticed folk deputy of Ukraine of the sixth convocation, president of the Election Law Institute Yuriy KLYUCHKOVSKIY.

– This year Regional Development Fund granted Kyiv with UAH 137 million. UAH 2.1 billion has been allocated to the fulfillment of capital functions. And according to the seventh appendix to the law on the state budget, Kyiv got UAH11 million governmental grant for social and economic development of separate territories. It is impossible to say that Kyiv wan not taken care of at all, – underlined First Vice-Chairman of the Budget Committee Oksana KALETNYK.