Ukraine elections meet standards, results still being established

Ukraine’s local elections held nationally on Oct. 25 met international standards, according to leading international authorities such as the U.S. government, the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations. Ukraine’s Opora election monitoring organization cited systemic problems in the application of election law and the failure to adequately prepare the normative-legal base, particularly for 1.2 million refugees displaced by the Donbas war. At the same time, central government administrative resources were abused far less than the 2010 local election, Opora reported.

 

The Central Election Commission of Ukraine is continuing to establish the results of the Oct. 25 local elections by receiving final tallies from regional election commissions. However, its website isn’t posting results and information is being released sporadically by the local election commissions. Vitali Klitschko of the Solidarity Petro Poroshenko Bloc won the most votes for Kyiv mayor but will face a runoff against a candidate that has yet to be determined. Hennadii Kernes has won re-election as mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.

 

In the third-largest city of Odesa, the local election commission declared incumbent Hennadii Trukhanov the winner at 52.9%, also not requiring a runoff. Like Kernes, Trukhanov was an opponent of the EuroMaidan and supports a Russian-oriented position. The Poroshenko Bloc called for a recount in Odesa and runner-up for mayor, Sasha Borovik of the Poroshenko Bloc, alleged the results were falsified.

 

In the fourth-largest city of Dnipropetrovsk, a runoff will be needed between Oleksandr Vilkul, a representative of magnate Rinat Akhmetov, and Borys Filatov, a representative of magnate Igor Kolomoisky. Vilkul earned about 37 percent while Filatov earned about 35 percent, Opora reported on Oct. 27 in its parallel vote count. The runoff elections are scheduled for Nov. 15.

 

The Solidarity claimed it earned the most votes for the Kyiv City Council, as well as 14 regional councils. Nine of the party’s candidates will compete in second round runoffs for mayor, and the party will be represented in all the councils of the Donetsk region.

 

Zenon Zawada: With the low turnout for these elections, the public demonstrated the lack of interest in the political process and what the candidates had to offer, which was the status quo. Poroshenko has essentially extinguished any hope for dramatic reforms, and the public has come to understand that these candidates represent more of the same.

 

With the mayors of most major cities being re-elected, those choosing to participate in the vote – mostly older citizens – demonstrated they prefer stability, even if it means that quality of life won’t improve much. Much of the protest vote – which wasn’t very impressive – was taken by the youth-oriented Self-Reliance party and the Svoboda nationalist party, while the results of Oleh Liashko’s Radical Party and Yulia Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party were disappointing. The results of the Russian-oriented Opposition Bloc fulfilled expectations of a solid result in southeastern regions, yet the details remain hazy.

 

A conclusion has been drawn by certain observers that the elections reflected the public’s affirmation of the political course of President Poroshenko, with the first place finish of his party in the majority of councils in western and central Ukraine. However, finishing first in local elections is no great achievement for the president’s party, which is the gatekeeper to government resources and patronage.

 

Moreover, the Poroshenko Bloc’s first-place finish was accomplished with a general result ranging between 15-18 percent in many cases, according to reports. Its first-place standing is largely due to the lack of any inspiring competition in a political system that continues to be managed by oligarchs.