Already 121 amalgamated hromadas (AHs) are waiting for the appointment of the first elections of hromadas’ heads and local deputies by the Central Election Commission.These AHs include 511 hromadas of village, urban-type settlement and city councils. Another 55 hromadas have joined 37 of the existing AHs and are also ready for the elections.

“1 million 318 thousand people live in the hromadas, that have amalgamated or joined and are waiting for the first elections. They supported the reform, amalgamated, and therefore want the changes in their villages and cities to finally begin, as is the case with the already established 705 AHs. No one and nothing should hamper this process,” said Vyacheslav Nehoda, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine.

He also stressed that obligation of all those involved in the process of forming capable hromadas is to “ensure that people can exercise their constitutional right to elect local authorities still this year.”

According to Vyacheslav Nehoda, the elections in AHs should take place this year so that new hromadas are considered in the calculations of the state budget for 2019 and for them to switch to direct interbudgetary relations with the state from 1 January .

As previously mentioned, the CEC found the reason not to appoint elections in AHs for October 2018, though they still can be held in November or December.

More comments on the situation with elections’ appointment in AHs are available HERE