Donetsk, Oct 4 – DAN. The DPR Interim Vote Commission (IVC) says primaries might be organized in other municipalities across the Republic.
"We leave open the possibility of primaries in other DPR municipalities. If we receive requests for such endeavor in other regions, it is possible," said the IVC press officer Oleg Balykin.
The first round of the DPR primaries took place in Donetsk and its suburbs on October, 2nd. Over 370 thousand voters cast their ballots to determine opinion leaders most apt to run for mayor, city and local authorities positions.
The Interim Voting Commission registered 1098 self-nominated candidates, among them politicians, medics, cultural leaders, militiamen, miners, scientists and teachers known across Donbass and Ukraine. Five of the candidates ran for Donetsk mayor, 141 – for city council, and the rest for local offices. The results and turnout numbers were officially revealed on October 3 by the Interim Voting Commission.
The primaries, that are preliminary in nature, are aimed solely at exploring public opinion. They are held before anticipated local elections in Donbass in compliance with Minsk Agreements. The vote is being organized in line with OSCE standards.
Local elections in Donbass are one of the key points of a peace deal. They were supposed to be held back in 2015 as stipulated in the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements. To accomplish the task Ukraine assumed obligation to pass the election legislation coordinated with Donbass Republics. The law has not still been passed, and a draft bill has not been worked out. This has triggered criticism towards Kiev, even from Ukraine’s western allies.