Ukraine election battle for key coal mining city intensifies

The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Ukraine ruled on Oct. 27 to cancel the second round runoff election for Pavlohrad mayor, drawing harsh criticism from election observer organizations for violating Ukrainian law. The CEC based its decision on the city’s voting population dropping below 90,000 after voting lists were reviewed, which would thereby change the category of rules it needs to abide by, adopting a first-past-the-post approach instead of a runoff. Election observer heads criticized the decision as a violation of election, since it had already been established that Pavlohrad belongs to that category of cities (population of 90,000 and above) for which the rules for a second-round runoff apply. “There has never been such egregious legal nihilism in the history of Ukrainian elections,” said Olha Aivazovska, the head of the Opora election monitoring organization.

Following the public outcry, the district election commission of Pavlohrad decided the same day to hold the second round runoff vote between Anatoliy Vershyna of the Opposition Bloc, sponsored by magnate Rinat Akhmetov, and Yevhen Terekhov of the UKROP party, sponsored by magnate Igor Kolomoisky. Afterwards, the CEC announced it would review the district commission’s decision. Vershyna earned 34 percent and Terekhov earned 18 percent. Under the election system for cities with a population of 90,000 and above, a second round runoff is required if the leading candidate hasn’t achieved a 50 percent majority.

Pavlohrad’s total population was estimated at about 110,000 in 2014 by the Ukrainian government. The city is located in the Dnipropetrovsk region on the Donetsk coal basin. The city’s biggest enterprise, coal mine Pavlohradvuhillia, is a part of Ukraine’s top energy holding DTEK, which is controlled by Akhmetov. Pavlohradvuhillia accounted for 60 percent of total steam coal produced in Ukraine in 9M15.

Zenon Zawada: The CEC is widely believed to have made its ruling at the behest of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who would prefer to see Akhmetov’s candidate win over the UKROP candidate sponsored by Kolomoisky, who is a far worse rival. In which case, the president would be undermining rule of law in Ukraine. Poroshenko is widely believed to have cut deals with Akhmetov, who continues to dominate the Donbas region, even amid the warfare.

The Pavlohrad incident isn’t the only stain on the local elections. The Committee for Open Democracy, the third-largest election observer, cited widespread fraud in the Odesa elections “that tarnished the democratic process” and “call into questions the accuracy of results.” As we stated earlier, Western governments and institutions were going to endorse these elections despite widespread fraud because they need to support the pro-Western president.

Unfortunately, Poroshenko is well aware of the West’s need to back him and is capitalizing on his advantageous position to pursue an agenda that doesn’t coincide with national interests. The American government’s patience is wearing thin with its recent criticism of the Prosecutor General’s Office and the U.S. ambassador’s warning that financial aid won’t be forthcoming without reforms. Poroshenko is treading a thin line that could eventually snap, especially with Western politicians on the horizon that are calling for cutting deals with Russian President Putin.