The UDAR Party has announced it will insist on the election of Kyiv's mayor in two rounds of voting.
“One of the first bills will concern the return of local government. The mayor of Kyiv should be elected by the residents of Kyiv, rather than appointed. We will insist on the adoption of a law on the election of the mayor in two rounds so that the city mayor represents the majority of the people, rather than 10-15%,” UDAR Party leader Vitali Klitschko said before a meeting of Kyiv City Council on Thursday.
He also said the UDAR faction would remain in Kyiv City Council and that new MPs who will soon start fulfilling their duties would continue to defend the interests of the residents of the Ukrainian capital.
“The election to parliament does not mean that Klitschko and his team have left the city council. We will continue to work for the sake of change in the capital,” Klitschko said.
As previously reported, seven deputies of the UDAR faction in Kyiv City Council, who were elected to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, including Klitschko, withdrew their statements on the early termination of their powers so as to be able to vote at a meeting of the city council on Thursday.
Klitschko also said earlier that UDAR would participate in the city’s mayoral election. When asked whether he has given up his mayoral ambitions, Klitschko said: “I will never leave the residents of Kyiv.”
Klitschko said earlier that the UDAR faction in the new parliament would initiate the holding of local elections in Kyiv in May 2013.
