11 December 2007, 15:25
A relevant Bill to amend the Laws 'On Election of Deputies of The Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Local Councils, and Village, Community and City Mayors, submitted by the People's Deputy, M. Pozhyvanov, was Registered in The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The provisions of this Bill (Reg. No. 1060) stipulate that a candidate gaining more than half the votes of those who cast their votes is considered the duly elected City Mayor. Where none of the candidates gains over 50 per cent of the votes, a second round is held between the two candidates with the largest number of electors' votes. Finally, the candidate gaining the highest number of electors´ votes shall be considered duly elected.
Also, the Bill removes an 'against all' voting option, as this situation, according to the author, has been criticized several times by the International organizations (OSCE, The European Council), Ukraine being among their member states. The initial remark was that voting against all candidates creates an illusion amongst the electors that their vote is meaningful, whereas the bulletin papers with 'against all' votes are not taken into consideration when determining the voting returns, similarly with those bulletin papers deemed as invalid. In addition, 'against all' voting engenders a greater political apathy among the public.
The author believes that the passing of this Bill will allow an individual, enjoying the confidence of the majority of a city´s community, to be elected City Mayor, as well as increasing his responsibility to the electors and improving his effective co-operation with the City Council.