Local election turnouts drop across Ukraine

Slightly over 28% of the electorate turned out for the
mayoral election in Kharkiv on Oct. 31. The citizen’s watchdog group OPORA gave
an estimate of 28.6%, versus 45.5% in 2015. The police received 52 reports of
possible voting violations, and began criminal proceedings in two cases. Also,
some polling stations were not letting election observers monitor the vote
counting after the polls closed. However, no reports of gross election
violations were recorded.

Elections in Chernihiv and Kherson oblasts registered
similar drops in participation, and likewise, no gross election violations,
pravda.com.ua reports.

James Hydzik: At the moment, it is unclear if the drop in voting is mostly COVID
related or if there is also a fatigue after the political turmoil that rose in
October. The fact that organized mass violations were not recorded is a good
sign. In the past, local elections were seen as opportunities to try new
manipulations.