Kyiv mayor formally resigns

Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky resigned from his position on Friday, according to media reports. The resignation follows new talk from all political quarters about holding new mayoral elections in the Ukrainian capital. Chernovetsky was elected mayor in 2006 and re-elected in a snap election in 2008. Following eccentric policies that earned him the nickname “Cosmos” and implication in a land grab scheme, he was largely sidelined after President Viktor Yanukovych’s appointment of Oleksandr Popov as head of the city administration in November 2010 left Chernovetsky as little more than a figurehead.

Brad Wells: Chernovetsky has been out of the picture to the point that he has reportedly spent much of his time abroad, with top government officials at times appearing unaware of his whereabouts. Thus, the resignation itself will have little bearing on management of the city. We view this maneuver as setting the stage for a new city mayoral election and the clearest signal yet that Kyiv will again get a democratically appointed head, perhaps by yearend.