Ukraine is holding local elections today, on October 25, in its 24 regions.
Following the elections' results, new memberships of regional, district, and city councils will be established.
Ukrainians are also to elect mayors of cities, heads of village and regional councils.
The number of local deputies in the country will decrease due to the new administrative-territorial division, reducing the number of regions in Ukraine.
Regional centers became a part of the newly-established districts.
The Ukrainian people will elect 119 district councils.
Another crucial amendment in the electoral legislation is a mixed electoral system. A proportional system will be followed in cities with 10,000 or higher population.
For the first time in the history of independent Ukraine, the lists of candidates from parties will be open.
Voters will have to make two marks on the ballot: to tick a political party they vote for and enter the candidate's number from the elected one.
The new system allows candidates to move up the party list, which will increase their chances of getting elected to local councils.
Another innovation is gender quotas for political parties. They stipulate that the electoral list of parties must contain at least 40% of the same sex representatives: in each top five of the list, the principle of "five candidates - two women" must be observed.
Simultaneously, with the elections to local authorities in Ukraine, a poll initiated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is taking place.
Anano Nikoladze
News Author