By Ivan Lukerya, expert of the Reanimation Package of Reforms,

coordinator of the Central Reform Office under MinRegion, column in the UP

One million 109 thousand Ukrainians should receive real local self-government and the right to development.

That is the number of people living in 133 amalgamated hromadas, who are waiting for the decision of the Central Election Commission to appoint elections.

An epic story with the appointment of elections in AHs began on 9 August 2018, when the previous membership of the Central Election Commission passed Resolution No. 122, which blocked the appointment of the first and additional local elections in AHs.

By such a decision, the CEC blocked the further process of capable hromadas’ formation and significantly slowed down decentralisation.

On 20 September 2018, after three years of ineffective attempts to renew the composition of the Central Election Commission and complete a lengthy political crisis around this issue, the Verkhovna Rada finally terminated the powers of 13 CEC members and renewed the composition of the Commission.

Already after the positive voting and an oath taking by the new CEC members, Prime Minister of Ukraine, Reanimation Package of Reforms, Association of AHs and local self-government bodies urged the CEC to appoint elections in AHs.

The epic story regarding the appointment of elections should be resolved by 12 October 2018, and the elections should be scheduled for 23 December 2018. These are the requirements of the Ukraine legislation.

The new members of the Central Election Commission should act in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law, and not repeat the mistakes of the former CEC membership.

The issue of elections in AHs has to return to the legal field and be considered by the CEC by 12 October 2018.

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