Ukrainians vote in local elections to select mayors, council members
Voters in Ukraine are taking part in local elections that are mainly considered as a test of support for the Western-backed President Petro Poroshenko.
People are selecting mayors and representatives to local councils across the country except for eastern regions, which are under the control of pro-Russia forces.
Surveys showed that the president’s ruling party was ahead of other parties in polls. However, figures revealed that support for him has fallen in the past few months as the country’s economy is anticipated to contract by 11.5 percent.
A survey conducted by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation earlier in October said that some 40 percent of the voters were undecided on which party they should support in the election.
A huge turnout for Poroshenko would allow him to consolidate power to amend the constitution and give more power to local governments.
Some 1,500 international observers are in Ukraine to monitor the elections. According to a survey, about 69 percent of nearly 25 million registered voters will take part in the elections. The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) in the east will not take part in the vote as they postponed it to 2016.
The results will be released by November 20.
The vote is the third set of elections in the country since pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February 2014. The previous elections were presidential and parliamentary polls held in 2014.
Since April 2014, eastern Ukraine has witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Kiev government forces backed by the West. In March that year, Ukraine’s eastern peninsula of Crimea voted in a referendum to rejoin the Russian Federation, triggering the conflict.
UN figures show about 8,000 people have so far died in the conflict.
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