26 October 2020, Monday, 18:40 118

CEC Allows Second Round Of Mayor Elections In Separate Cities In December Due To Litigations

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

The Central Election Commission (CEC) admits that the second round of mayoral elections in separate cities may not take place in November, as in the majority, but in December due to possible litigations.

Deputy chairperson of the Central Election Commission Serhii Dubovik announced this to Ukrainian News Agency.

According to him, in accordance with the calendar plan for the local elections, the results should be established by November 6 inclusively, and according to the Electoral Code in cities with more than 75,000 voters, where on October 25 none of the candidates won more than 50% of the vote, the second round of mayoral election must be called for Sunday within three weeks of the signing of the minutes.

“Territorial election commissions have 12 days to establish the election results. But someone can establish them faster. Therefore, the date of the second round cannot be the same. Moreover, no one said that these results would not be challenged. In this case, the elections will shift until the court makes a decision. The trial is, relatively speaking, another week. That is, the second round may take place in early December," Dubovik said.

Accordingly, the deputy chairperson of the CEC noted that it is impossible to name exactly the dates when the second round can take place in different cities.

"Three weeks for the second round of elections is not an axiom. According to the Electoral Code, elections must be scheduled not for Sunday of the third week, but for Sunday within three weeks," he explained.

Thus, in theory, elections can be scheduled even for November 1, but in practice, according to Dubovik, this is very unlikely, as well as on November 8.

"The second round can be appointed quickly if they are ready to hold it. But it is clear that there is a reasonable time frame and a reasonable approach. Ideally, it could be November 15. But this is unrealistic. As a rule, the vote will be scheduled for November 22 and 29," he said.

The deputy chairperson of the Central Election Commission also added that it is necessary to take into account the "human factor".

He explained that for each day of work, members of the commissions receive a salary, which is why, in his opinion, they are not interested in a very quick establishment of the election results.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, according to exit polls conducted by sociological companies on the day of local elections, the mayoral elections in Kharkiv were held in the first round, in Kyiv and Dnipro, most likely, they will be held in two rounds, and in Odesa and Lviv - exactly in two rounds.