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Ukraine’s Communist Party to take part in local elections despite ban — Communist leader

Justice Minister Pavel Petrenko has stripped the country’s Communist parties of the status and rights of participants in the political process

KIEV, July 24. /TASS/. Despite the ban imposed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice, Ukraine’s Communist Party will take part in the local elections due on October 25 and will nominate its candidates in majority constituencies, Ukrainian Communist leader Pyotr Simonenko pledged on Friday.

Earlier on Friday, secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov said that Justice Minister Pavel Petrenko had stripped the country’s Communist parties of the status and rights of participants in the political process, since their activities, names and symbols "run counter to the law condemning the Communist and Nazi totalitarian regimes."

Simonenko said that he was sure the authorities would try to hamper his party’s participation in the elections. "If they don’t let us take part in the elections as a political party, we will nominate our candidates in majority constituencies," he said.

On July 8, 2014, Ukraine’s minister of justice and the state register authority filed a suit with Kiev’s administrative court to outlaw the Ukrainian Communist Party in the country. After the first hearing of this case on July 24, 2014, the litigation was postponed several times. On May 25, 2015, Kiev’s administrative court withdrew the case. On April 9, 2015, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) passed a law condemning Communist and Nazi totalitarian regimes, banned their propaganda and symbols. On May 15, 2015, President Petro Poroshenko signed four relevant laws, or the so-calle "decommuniczation package."

Ukraine has three Communist parties, namely the Ukrainian Communist Party, the Communist Party (renewed) and the Ukrainian Communist Party of Workers and Peasants. Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council Oleksandr Turchynov said earlier neither of them had a political party status from July 24, 2015.