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Protests being prepared in Odessa following mayoral elections

A picket is scheduled for Wednesday outside the district administrative court, which will entertain a suit on cancelling the election results
Ukraine’s president at the meeting of Petro Poroshenko Bloc Mykhailo Palinchak/TASS
Ukraine’s president at the meeting of Petro Poroshenko Bloc
© Mykhailo Palinchak/TASS

KIEV, October 28. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko Bloc that suffered a devastating defeat at the mayoral elections in the Black Sea port of Odessa is trying to take revenge through use of force. The headquarters of the candidate from Petro Poroshenko Bloc, Sasha Borovik, said there were numerous irregularities during the elections.

A picket is scheduled for Wednesday outside the district administrative court, which will entertain a suit on cancelling the election results.

According to the official voting results, the mayoral elections were won by incumbent Mayor of Odessa Gennady Trukhanov who secured 52,9% of the vote. Adviser to Saakashvili, representative of Petro Poroshenko Bloc Sasha Borovik, a lawyer from Germany who was earlier granted Ukrainian citizenship, came second in the elections with 25,7% of the vote.

Borovik’s headquarters said there had been numerous irregularities during the voting, in particular, falsifications and bribery of voters. Saakashvili’s supporters urge their followers to take to the streets and join the protests.

Meanwhile, the police received a telephone call from an anonymous person who said a mine had been planted in the building of the Odessa City Council where the votes were being counted. According to police officers, people with "confirmed voting protocols" appeared in the building.