Local elections may be canceled in Mariupol after unrest

Local elections in Mariupol, the strategic Ukrainain port city bordering occupied Donbas, might be canceled, said on Oct. 19 Pavlo Zhebrivskiy, the head of the Donetsk regional military-civic administration. He made the statement after a weekend of election-related conflicts in the city, during which he said attempts were made to undermine the work of the city election commission, which in turn has made unjustified decisions on liquidating precinct election commissions. Zhebrivskiy said a decision would be made on Oct. 20 on the elections, but it has yet to be announced. He will visit the city today.

An anti-tank grenade launcher was used to attack a residential building in the city on the early morning of Oct. 19, reported the Donetsk regional police. No one was injured. Meanwhile, a violent conflict occurred on Oct. 17 at the city election commission, the police reported. An attempt was made the night of Oct. 16 to block a district election commission head from closing the meeting without having made decisions needed for the elections.

Election ballots for the Mariupol elections were printed and counted on Oct. 18 at a factory owned by local magnate Rinat Akhmetov without any supervision from election officials, a local political activist reported on Oct. 19 on his Facebook page. Akhmetov is widely believed to be sponsoring loyal candidates in the Mariupol elections, many with the Opposition Bloc, to secure his influence over the city. The city’s two biggest employers, Azovstal and Ilyich Steel Plant, are controlled by Akhmetov’s steel holding Metinvest.

Zenon Zawada: The elections have been poorly organized in Mariupol, a city of about 450,000, especially considering that authorities failed to arrange for printing ballots in a timely order and neutral location. Regardless of whether they’re canceled, the results there are already questionable. The events there have also tainted the elections on a national level, which will be marred by violations and accusations of fraud.