In Ukraine, polling stations for local elections opened at 08.00:XNUMX, at which Ukrainians will elect deputies of local, district or regional councils and heads of territorial communities.
The sites will close at 20.00:XNUMX p.m.
According to the Central Election Commission, 1780 deputies of regional and city councils of Kyiv, 5366 deputies of district councils, 11124 deputies of city councils, 562 deputies of district councils in cities with district divisions, 10284 deputies of village councils, 14006 deputies of rural councils will be elected in local elections on Sunday. , 370 city heads, 428 village heads, 623 village heads.
In parallel with the elections, a nationwide poll initiated by President Volodymyr Zelensky will be held, in which citizens will be asked to answer five questions: is it necessary to introduce a life sentence in the country for large-scale personal corruption; do they support the creation of a free economic zone in the Donbass; do they support the reduction of the size of the Verkhovna Rada from 450 to 300 people's deputies, the legalization of medical cannabis, and the raising of the issue at the international level about the use of security guarantees defined by the Budapest Memorandum.
It is also important to emphasize that the elections are taking place during the coronavirus pandemic. In this regard, the Cabinet of Ministers recommended voters not to take children to the polling stations, to treat their hands with disinfectants before entering the premises, to wear a respirator or a protective mask at the stations, to observe social distance, and to use personal pens when voting. If an elevated temperature is detected, it is recommended to vote in an isolated booth and use a separate ballot box.
The premises must be marked with markings indicating that a distance of at least 1 meter must be observed. Voter streams, for entry and exit, must be separated. In addition, it is recommended that no more than three voters stay at one table at the same time for issuing ballots.
In accordance with the norms of the Electoral Code, the electoral system depends on the number of voters in the administrative unit. In territorial communities with less than 10 voters, deputies will be elected by the usual majority system of relative majority in multi-mandate districts. Here, you can become a candidate both through political parties and through self-nomination.
In communities with more than 10 voters, a new system of proportional representation with open electoral lists is in effect for Ukraine. Candidates for deputies of such councils are nominated only by political parties, however, the voter votes not only for the party, but also for a specific candidate in its regional list and thus affects the candidate's chances of being elected regardless of his ordinal number in the list.
In the elections to such a council, the ballot will contain the name of the party on the left (and the surname of the candidate of the single electoral list who does not participate in personalized voting, because he is guaranteed to go to the council if the party overcomes the entrance barrier), in the middle two boxes for voting, and on the right a list of surnames 5-12 candidates from this party. Thus, in the first square, you need to put a mark for the party, and in the second square, write the number of the candidate from this party using a stencil (from 1 to 12).
Administrative and territorial reform is currently underway in Ukraine, in particular, in July 2020, the Verkhovna Rada liquidated 490 districts and formed 136 new ones. In addition, territorial communities, totaling 1470, were created within each oblast.
