Kyiv to reply to LPR/DPR proposal of February 2016 elections in next few days - source
LUHANSK. Sept 22 (Interfax) - A representative of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) has delivered a proposal for the next stage of local elections to be held in the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics (LPR and DPR, respectively) on February 21, 2016, to the coordinator of the political subgroup of the Contact Group which mediates the conflict in southeastern Ukraine, a source close to the negotiations told the Luhansk Information Center.
"The LPR representative handed the working group's roadmap with a list of documents and deadlines for approval and acceptance to the Ukrainian coordinator and representative in the political group," the source said.
"The implementation of the roadmap should culminate in the republics holding local elections on February 21, 2016, i.e. the election of local councils and rural and village heads," the source said.
The Ukrainian representative in the political subgroup, Roman Bessmertny, said he "will try to provide Ukraine's comments on the proposed plan already in the next few days," the source said.
LPR Minsk negotiator Vladislav Deinego said earlier that the LPR proposal for Donbas local elections to be held on February 21, 2016 does not cancel the elections of town mayors and heads of district administrations scheduled by LPR leader Igor Plotnitsky for November 1.
"We are electing 14 heads of towns and districts. Donetsk is holding elections in 17 areas. And these, our proposals [for Donbas elections to be held in February 2016] by no means affect the course of preparations for these elections," the LPR negotiator said.
"Yes, local self-administration is the same but we are now electing heads of districts and towns and will subsequently elect the rest. There are more than 300 areas where heads and councils have yet to be elected," Deinego said.
Holding elections in Donbas before February 21 "is simply technically not possible, even assuming that Ukraine starts implementing the Package of Measures from today," he said.
A day earlier Plotnitsky signed a decree setting November 1 as the date of local elections.
The DPR has scheduled its local elections for October 18.
Kyiv does not recognize the DPR and LPR's own local elections, insisting that these should be held under Ukrainian laws in accordance with the Minsk agreements and simultaneously with local elections across the country. Ukraine's local elections are due on October 25.
