Ukrainian president submits bill on local elections under martial law to parliament

Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has submitted to the parliament a bill amending the law "On endorsing the presidential decree on the declaration of martial law in Ukraine," which will make it possible to hold elections in the country’s regions where martial law has been introduced, Presidential Envoy to the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Irina Lutsenko said at a meeting of the Rada’s conciliation board.

"The president has submitted a bill to the Rada, which will make it possible to hold elections in the united territorial communities, where a special legal regime has been introduced," Lutshenko said.

Rada Speaker Andrei Paruby said at the meeting that elections could be threatened in almost 40 newly-created united territorial communities following the declaration of martial law as no elections, including local ones, could be conducted under martial law.

"It was agreed during consultations that today, the Ukrainian president would submit a relevant bill, which would tackle this legal issue," Paruby said, adding that he expected the bill to be passed later in the week.

Martial law declaration
On November 26, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) approved President Pyotr Poroshenko’s decree declaring a 30-say martial law in the Vinnitsa, Lugansk, Nikolayevsk, Odessa, Sumy, Kharkov, Chernigov, Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, as well as in Ukraine’s territorial waters in the Sea of Azov.

An incident in the Kerch Strait was used as an excuse for the move. On November 25, three Ukrainian navy ships illegally crossed Russia’s border and tried to carry out some illegal actions in Russian territorial waters on Sunday night. They ignored legitimate demands to stop issued by vessels belonging to the FSB Border Service and the Black Sea Fleet and continued maneuvering dangerously. In order to stop the Ukrainian ships, weapons had to be used. The three vessels were detained in Russian territorial waters. Three Ukrainian military servicemen suffered light wounds and were provided with medical assistance. A criminal investigation has been opened into the border incident. The 24 Ukrainian crew members have been arrested for two months for violating the Russian state border. If found guilty, they may face up to six years in prison.