Poroshenko Bloc says its candidates win in 52 of 78 communities in local elections in Ukraine
KYIV. Dec 24 (Interfax) - Candidates from the Petro Poroshenko Solidarity Bloc won in 52 out of the 78 unified territorial communities in elections on December 23, the Bloc said in a statement on Monday.
"A total of 52 candidates from the Petro Poroshenko Solidarity Bloc have won a victory. Among our winners, 30 candidates have been nominated by the party or were self-nominated party members and 21 were self-nominees supported by the party," the Bloc said.
In particular, candidates from the Petro Poroshenko Solidarity Bloc will lead 20 communities in the Cherkasy region, eight in the Volyn region, three in the Lviv region, and four out of the four communities in the Kyiv region, it said.
"The results of other political forces: Batkivshchyna - five unified territorial communities, the Agrarian Party two, UKROP two, Svoboda one, Samopomich one, and People's Party one," it said.
Based on tentative outcomes obtained after 75% of the votes have been counted, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc should garner 370 mandates of deputies of unified territorial communities, it said.
"The other parties: Batkivshcyna 322, the Agrarian Party 83, the Radical Party 43, UKROP 68, Popular Front 27, and self-nominated candidates 191," it said.
A total of 782 heads of unified territorial communities have been elected in Ukraine in local elections in 2015-2018, and 389 of these communities (or 49.7%) are headed by Petro Poroshenko Solidarity Bloc nominees, it said.
"The decentralization reform has crossed its Rubicon. Increasingly more Ukrainians are becoming active supporters of decentralization. Increasingly more success stories. Increasingly more true leaders of communities whom people trust. Two years ago, unified communities started repairing kindergartens, roads, and first-aid and obstetrical stations, and now they are starting new companies, creating new jobs, and drawing investments from international partners. Communities are building solar power stations, laying out fruit gardens, opening processing workshops, bakeries, and eco-parks, and launching other major projects," Serhiy Berezenko of the Petro Poroshenko Solidarity Bloc said.
The local elections in Ukraine were held on Sunday, December 23, in 78 unified territorial communities, including nine urban, 16 settlement, and 53 rural communities, in 13 regions across the country.
The elections were not held in the ten regions of Ukraine where martial law had been imposed from November 26 to December 26. The Ukrainian Central Elections Commission had said earlier that elections in these regions would be possible after martial law is lifted there. These regions are located along Ukraine's borders with Russia and Transdniestria and along the Black Sea coast.
Presidential elections in Ukraine are to be held at the end of March 2019.