On October 25, Ukrainians vote to elect mayors and municipal councils throughout the country, except in the territories under the control of separatists. Those are the first local elections after the Euromaidan. But the election campaign looks like a replica of the previous ones. And even the oligarchs are back.
Local elections to be held next Sunday in Ukraine seem marked by a mixture of apathy and hatred, depending on where you put your eyes. Vanished the post-Euromaidan hangover, shattered by a fratricidal war and an unprecedented economic crisis, Ukrainians trust politicians just like Uncle Scrooge trusts the Beagle Boys.
There are 132 political parties that, according to a report of the Kyiv Post, have invested USD 82 million in the election campaign. More than in the last presidential election.
Because the chairs of the local government should not be underestimated.
According to Kateryna Odarchenko, a political analyst interviewed by the KP, it only takes a mere 2,000 dollars to secure the election in a small town. Like for example, I might add, Mukacheve. The peaceful town of Transcarpathia at a short distance from the border with the European Union, controls smuggling across the border. In July, a fight with rocket launchers and heavy machine guns between the Pravy Sektor militia and the (corrupt, they say) police, left two dead and burning cars on the tarmac. The incident has drawn attention to the local politicians who, vox populi, fill their pockets with the illegal trafficking. And they have not even been touched by the Euromaidan nor by the law on lustration. “Just take a look at the houses”, a friend of mine told me in the aftermath of the fighting. “The most luxurious villas of Mukacheve are those of local politicians.” And there are many towns like Mukacheve in Ukrain.
Slices of cake
Apathy and hatred. Meanwhile much of the electorate may not even go to vote, especially among young people, the candidates keep on fighting hard. Of course, not only in little towns.
To get a slice where the cake is bigger, you need much more than 2,000 dollars. Like in Dnipropetrovsk.
There, Oleksandr Vilkul and Boris Filatov are the main competitors for the mayor chair. Vilkul is a man of Yanukovich, a former governor of the region, former deputy prime minister. He is sponsored by Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, and (according to rumors) major financer of separatists in Donetsk, where his headquarter is. Filatov is a MP and a businessman, running for Ukrop, the party founded and financed by Ihor Kholomoisky, the powerful oligarch of Dnipropetrovsk who controls at least three battalions of volunteers that fought in the war in the Donbass: the Aidar, the Azov and the Dnipro.
Dnipropetrovsk is the wealthiest city in Ukraine, second to Kiev. A wealth expected to increase with the entry into force of the new law on autonomy.
The Interior Ministry doesn’t exclude the risk clashes, even between private militias, and has raised the guard on Dnipropetrovsk for the day of the vote.
Occasion
Nevertheless, it must be said that this can be a turning point. Ukrainians have the first chance to change the local political class, that has remained the same since Yanukovich. Expression of a network of corruption that has seen in the government ousted by the revolution of Euromaidan the summit of State kleptocracy. In addition, for the first time, vote will be held with a new electoral law, which raised the minimum threshold for municipal councils, prohibits coalitions and provides blocked lists. The goal is to increase the representation of parties and to bind candidates to their programs. For the mayoral election in cities with more than 90,000 voters there is a two-round majority system.
On the other hand, there are many problems related to the conflict in the Donbass. Not only will the elections not be held in territories under the control of DNR and LNR separatist, but even in the rest of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions under government control. This is because of fears of clashes that could offer separatists an opportunity for destabilize the country. In addition, the problem of internally displaced persons who fled the Donbass remains unsolved; 1.5 million Ukrainians who will not have right to vote.
In short, that’s an opportunity for change, hopefully not already lost.
@daniloeliatweet
Local elections to be held next Sunday in Ukraine seem marked by a mixture of apathy and hatred, depending on where you put your eyes. Vanished the post-Euromaidan hangover, shattered by a fratricidal war and an unprecedented economic crisis, Ukrainians trust politicians just like Uncle Scrooge trusts the Beagle Boys.
There are 132 political parties that, according to a report of the Kyiv Post, have invested USD 82 million in the election campaign. More than in the last presidential election.
