The procedure of electing starostas has undergone radical changes. Now starostas are appointed by the hromada council at the suggestion of the head.

In many hromadas it has been severely criticized as residents used to consider a starosta as a representative of their own interests (as the law stipulates) and wanted to elect a starosta. Some hromadas have faced serious conflicts around starosta appointment because the residents’ opinion and the hromada head and council’s stance were different.

Andriy Kavunets, the head of the Hromadas of the Vinnytsia region resource and information centre, brings in examples of a constructive way out in the material.