KYIV – On October 25, local elections were held nationwide in Ukraine, except in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The elections were held on a new administrative-territorial basis, as new united territorial communities have been created in connection with decentralization reform.
“The government has changed the outdated division into raions, which was adopted in the first half of the last century. It transferred more power to the communities, forming almost 1,500 united territorial communities,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal commented after voting in Lviv. “For the first time in the history of independent Ukraine, people on the ground will manage funds independently and decide where to spend resources. This is a key element of the decentralization reform,” he noted.