On 21 December 2016, the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine Committee on State Construction, Regional Policy and Local Self-Government recommended to the Parliament to take draft law No. 5520 regarding the peculiarities of voluntary amalgamation of communities located in the territories of neighbouring Rayons (Districts) as a basis and as a whole.

That draft law sets forth the sequence of actions to be taken in the process of establishment of amalgamated territorial communities in the event when local councils comprising the amalgamation are located in the territories of different Rayons (Districts) or in the event of the amalgamation of communities with the cities of Oblast (Regional) subordinance.

Due to the lack of strict regulation regarding this matter, the Central Elections Commission sees no legal grounds for calling the first local elections in a number of the amalgamated communities prior to the date on which the boundaries of the respective Rayons (Districts) are changed pursuant to a resolution of the Parliament.

It is a reminder that draft law No. 4676 regarding the conditions for changing boundaries of Rayons (Districts) in the course of voluntary amalgamation of territorial communities, which draft law had to resolve the said matters, was rejected by the Parliament on 6 December of this year.

It should be noted that earlier the Committee provided clarification regarding the application of the provisions of laws of Ukraine in terms of holding the first local elections in the amalgamated territorial communities located in the territories of neighbouring Rayons (Districts) and in the event of the amalgamation of communities with a city of Oblast (Regional) subordinance. In that clarification, the Committee arrived at the conclusion that the laws of Ukraine contained no legal grounds for non-calling by the Central Elections Commission the first local elections in such communities without the boundaries of Rayons (Districts) having been changed. However, the Central Elections Commission disagreed with the clarification of the Committee.