Ukraine's CEC says it can hold Oct 26 polls in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions
KYIV. Sept 30 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Mykhailo Okhendovsky believes that there is a chance of holding Ukraine's parliamentary election, set for October 26, in 11 districts of the Donetsk region and four districts in the Luhansk region.
"Already today we can speak about the opportunity to organize and hold the vote in at least 11 districts of the Donetsk region and four districts of the Luhansk region," Okhendovsky told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday.
"We will hold the elections in areas that are safe. As far as we are concerned, there is no territory controlled by the DPR [Donetsk People's Republic] or the LPR [Luhansk People's Republic]. For us, there are only territories where it is safe or not safe to hold the elections," he said.
The governors of these two regions will soon provide information about the polling stations in districts where the situation in quiet, he said.
When asked whether or not preparations for the October 26 polls were already under way across the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the CEC chairman said that they were not.
"The CEC is unable to carry out preparations in the districts where it is impossible to do so for security reasons," he said.
"As far as these districts are concerned, we will provide information to the public starting from October 1, as soon as the candidates' registration is completed," he said.
The elections will be ruled invalid in districts where all polling stations remain closed on October 26, Okhendovsky said. The CEC will then order repeat elections in such districts.