You're reading: Klitschko: Kyiv mayoral election should be held in May

The government is breaking the law by refusing to set the holding of a mayoral election in Kyiv for May 2012, UDAR Party leader Vitali Klitschko has said.

He said on the ICTV channel that in accordance with the law, the election of the Kyiv mayor should be held in May, but its holding "is artificially being delayed to the point when a pro-government candidate will have a sufficient rating for victory."

"Various schemes and options are being developed for this, among them the proposal to hold the elections this summer. Most active people will leave the city, and there will mostly remain retirees, who, according to the logic of the government, should support its candidate. They will stimulate them through additional payments and promises," the party’s press service quoted Klitschko as saying.

He said that the gap between the leading candidates "is reaching up to 10%, rather than 2-3%, as the government says," and this gap, in his opinion, is not in favor of the pro-government candidate.

"Therefore, the question is now not whether the elections will take place this summer. The question is whether they will be held this year," Klitschko said.

He also stated that he supported the idea of nominating a single candidate from the opposition in this election, but he believes that in this issue "it’s necessary to avoid blackmail, pressure and backroom games from which the residents of Kyiv only suffer."