DONETSK/LUHANSK, October 11. /TASS/. Elections of the heads and parliamentarians of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics (DPR and LPR) in Ukraine’s embattled southeast will be held as planned on November 2, the central election commissions (CEC) of the DPR and LPR said Saturday.
The CECs’ reports say analysis of the situation with the course of reconstruction work showed that voting may be held according to an earlier approved plan without postponing the date.
Originally, elections in the DPR and LPR were set for November 2, but later the LPR CEC after consultations with the DPR CEC asked for postponement of the vote until November 9 over a large amount of repair and reconstruction work in the republic.
In line with the law “On elections of the head of the DPR”, a citizen of the DPR at least 30 years old, who has permanently resided in the republic for at least 10 years and has collected 1,000 signatures in his support can be elected the DPR head. DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko is one of the candidates.
Simultaneously, in line with the law “On elections of deputies to the DPR People’s Council”, the parliamentary elections will start. The electoral threshold is set at 5% The parliament will have 100 lawmakers elected in line with the proportional system.
The right to nominate candidate lists is given to public organizations and associations; their registration started October 3. The candidate should be older than 21 and has to live for five years on the republic’s territory prior to the elections. The DPR head and deputies are elected for four years.
In line with the legislation of the LPR, a citizen of the LPR at least 30 years old, who has permanently resided in the republic for at least 10 years, can be elected the LPR head. The first elections of the LPR head are appointed by the LPR Supreme Council. Registration of candidates for LPR head started October 5.
In line with the law on elections to the People’s Council, its 50 deputies are elected for four years. Republican lists of candidates may be nominated by public organizations (movements).
According to the UN, some 3,500 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled Ukraine’s war-torn southeast as a result of clashes between Ukrainian troops and local militias in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions during Kiev’s military operation to regain control over the breakaway territories, which call themselves the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics.
The parties to the Ukrainian conflict agreed on cessation of fire during talks mediated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on September 5 in Belarusian capital Minsk two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed his plan to settle the situation in the east of Ukraine. The ceasefire has reportedly occasionally been violated.
Ukraine’s parliament on September 16 granted a special self-rule status to certain districts in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions for three years. Elections to local self-government bodies were set for December 7.
On September 20 in Minsk, the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE adopted a memorandum outlining the parameters for the implementation of commitments on the ceasefire in Ukraine laid down in the Minsk Protocol of September 5.
The document contains nine points, including in particular a ban on the use of all armaments and withdrawal of weapons with the calibers of over 100 millimeters to a distance of 15 kilometers from the contact line from each side. The OSCE was tasked with controlling the implementation of memorandum provisions.