Kyivans might be deprived of their right to elect the mayor of the city if a new initiative from President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration succeeds.
The Ministry of Justice is proposing that the nation’s president appoint the mayor of the Ukrainian capital. The idea was sent back to the ministry for reconsideration, but the proposal was enough to stir debate over the issue. And opponents of Yanukovych predict the idea will resurface soon in parliament.
Administration critics claim that Yanukovych is edging towards authoritarian rule. Stripping citizens of the right to choose the leader of Ukraine’s most influential city would be another key step in the anti-democratic agenda.
According to the controversial proposal, the mayor’s duties would be divided between two posts – chairman of the city council, to be elected by the council, and head of the Kyiv city administration, a presidential appointee. The head of the city administration will have the key executive duties for running the city.
Currently, Kyiv’s mayor is elected by the capital’s citizens for a four-year term. Incumbent Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky is to serve until 2012. The city council head, a position Chernovetsky also holds, is chosen by a majority formed in the city council, whose members are also elected. He could not be immediately reached for comment on this proposal.
In some American cities, city administrators are appointed by elected mayors and city councils to run the day-to-day affairs of the municipality and its staff. But political analysts say denying citizens the right to elect city leaders is anti-democratic. Analysts also said such a change would violate the Ukrainian Constitution.
“The very idea that the city can be governed by a person not elected by the people of the city contradicts the European Charter of Local Self-Government and Ukrainian Constitution,” political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said. “It would be democratic to at least hold a local referendum about the issue. But there is no sign of this intention and it is pretty clear to me why – the majority of Kyiv citizens will not support the idea and the government is aware of this.”
Former Kyiv Mayor Leonid Kosakivsky says the political system of Kyiv needs a change, but not the one proposed by government.
“During my term in office, a different model was proposed. It would include the posts of city mayor and head of local administration,” said Kosakivsky, who served from 1993 to 1997. “The first one was to be elected by Kyiv citizens, head the city council and have all the executive duties of mayor, while the head of the administration was to be a representative of the president in the capital with no executive duties whatsoever. Now the government is willing to implement the reverse version of this system with the representative of president having all the real power. I consider this a step to an authoritarian rule."
Under the current law, the deeply unpopular Chernovetsky occupies both the posts of city council chairman and head of city administration. Dissatisfaction with Chernovetsky’s performance is at the root of these proposed changes.
According to the polls, conducted by Institute of Politics in March, 91.3 percent of Kyiv residents do not support the mayor. Many are outraged with massive fraud in municipal land sales, including the time when the Chernovetsky-led city council gave away four hectares of public green space in the city center to a group of individuals. Last year, many also criticized the mayor’s long absences from work. He spent about three months off the job in 2009, partly for vacation and partly for sick leave.
While Chernovetsky was telling people he was suffering from pneumonia, he was photographed by Israeli journalists strolling luxurious shops in the Red Sea resort of Eilat. Dissatisfaction grew over the winter, when municipal service workers failed to clear streets and sidewalks after massive snowfalls. Spring brought new problems, including piles of garbage that nobody seems to be cleaning up and poor road conditions.
After Yanukovych took office on Feb. 25, he criticized Chernovetsky for poor administrative performance, land fraud, traffic problems and corruption. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov even threatened last month to “take action” if the mayor did not show improvement in three months. Following this conversation, Chernovetsky dismissed some of his deputies, including his long-time ally Irena Kilchytska.
Analysts say Chernovetsky is doomed as mayor, but the ruling party has nobody capable of winning an election. “The pro-presidential Party of Regions does not have a person popular enough to win the elections in Kyiv. Naturally, they are willing to obtain the right to appoint him,” political analyst Fesenko said.
The government and many others do not want to wait until the scheduled elections in Kyiv in 2012 to get rid of Chernovetsky.
But that rationale is not good enough for many who think Kyivans should be able to decide who leads the city.
“The law should not be made to serve any short-term purpose like replacing a politician,” admitted Vasyl Gorbal, leader of the Kyiv division of the pro-presidential Party of Regions. “Let’s not be fast on judging the document which is not even finished yet. Probably if people are strongly against the idea it will not even be in the new version of amendment.”
But others think the Party of Regions-inspired proposal is all but a done deal, including members of the opposition Vitali Klitschko bloc on the Kyiv city council.
“According to the information our party obtained unofficially, the amendment will be in parliament in May," said Natalya Novak, deputy head of the opposition to the Klitschko faction on the city council. Should this happen, the city opposition will appeal to the Constitutional Court, she said.
Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at [email protected]
