Ukrainian Mariupol elects Russian-oriented city council majority

Ukraine’s Central Election Commission announced on Nov. 29 successful elections held that day in two Donetsk region towns on Ukrainian-controlled territory, Mariupol (pre-war population of 458,500) and Krasnoarmiysk (population 64,500). The Interior Ministry said it received 21 complaints, the majority of which are not within its competency.

Voter turnout was 36.5 percent in Mariupol, which elected as its mayor Vadym Boychenko, who serves as the director of the Ilyich Mariupol Metallurgical Plant controlled by Rinat Akhmetov. The Opposition Bloc party, sponsored by the Donbas magnate, earned 66 percent of the votes for the city council. The figures are based on an exit poll conducted by Research & Branding Group. Turnout was 37.6 percent in Krasnoarmiysk.

Zenon Zawada: Once again, there’s concern that another eastern Ukrainian stronghold has elected a Russian-oriented majority to its city council (in addition to Kharkiv, Odesa and Kryviy Rih). We don’t see much cause for concern. Mariupol is on the frontlines and its residents are living in fear. Moreover, the Opposition Bloc and the mayor-elect represent the interests of the town’s main employer, its metallurgical plants. So the vote reflects pragmatism and the desire for stability. Instead, it’s encouraging the elections were held without violence or major violations.