Ukraine's Constitutional Court has opened proceedings on the issue of holding local elections in Kyiv.
The panel of judges of the Constitutional Court made a relevant decision on Friday, March 29, Interfax-Ukraine learned at the court’s press service.
According to the Constitutional Court’s rules of procedure, the case has to be considered within the timeframe indicated in Article 57 of the law on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
The court said that the motion by the MPs did not qualify this case as urgent.
As reported, the Constitutional Court received a motion from 48 MPs on the interpretation of certain provisions of the constitution and the law on local elections regarding local elections in Kyiv.
Lawmakers asked that the Constitutional Court to make an official interpretation of Part 2, Article 136, Part 3, Article 141 of the Constitution of Ukraine, and Paragraph 1, Part 2, Article 14 of the law of Ukraine on the election of deputies of the Crimean Supreme Council, local councils and heads of villages and towns.
Part 3, Article 141 of the constitution stipulates that the term of office of deputies of local councils and heads of villages and towns who are elected in regular elections is five years.
According to Paragraph 1, Part 2, Article 14 of the law on local elections, regular elections of deputies of local councils and heads of villages and towns are held simultaneously on Ukrainian territory, apart from in cases established by the constitution and laws.
One of the motion’s authors, MP Vitaliy Zhuravsky, said that the deputies had asked the Constitutional Court to clarify whether regular elections to local government agencies can be held at different time intervals, rather than simultaneously.
The opposition is insisting that local elections in Kyiv be slated for the beginning of this June. The concerned committee of the Verkhovna Rada proposed scheduling the elections for June 2.
According to the opposition, these should be regular elections, so the terms of office of deputies and the Kyiv mayor are five years.
At the same time, the Party of Regions plans to consider the question of the date of local elections only after the Constitutional Court’s decision on this motion.
The extraordinary election of Kyiv City Council deputy and Kyiv’s mayor took place in late May 2008.
