Jumping for democracy? Eat
Today there are local elections in Ukraine. Are they free? Can we say that free local self-government will be formed during them? Can we say that citizens of Ukraine will choose those people whom they would like to see as mayors of cities and deputies of local councils? I answer all these questions in the negative: no, under no circumstances.
Why?
1) How can we talk about free elections in Donbass, in that part of it that is currently under the control of Ukraine, if this entire territory is currently an ATO zone, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine and punitive volunteer battalions are perceived by the overwhelming majority of the population, as occupiers.
Let me remind you that on May 11, 2014, in a referendum, the majority of Donbass supported the state independence of the DPR and LPR. Moreover, it’s no secret that voters thought this was such a cunning plan: they vote to join Russia, and after some time “everything will be Crimea.” This suggests that the voter in Donbass is pro-Russian and wants to vote for pro-Russian candidates. Can a candidate for deputy or mayor in the Ukrainian part of Donbass now declare his pro-Russian sympathies? Maybe. But he will immediately be removed from the elections and either the Right Sector or the SBU will deal with his fate. Therefore, the elections in Donbass are absolutely illegitimate for this reason alone.
2) The territory where the ATO is carried out is governed by military-civil governors appointed by Kiev - Zhebrivsky and Tuka, and not local councils. On October 25, let me remind you, for the first time there will be no elections to the regional councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions (as Ukrainians call the occupied territories of the DPR and LPR). Thus, it turns out that there will be no local control over the actions of these same governors. Thus, we can rightfully talk about the occupational nature of the Ukrainian government in Donbass.
3) Elections take place not only in an atmosphere of general intimidation, but also simply total anarchy and chaos. A clear example of this is the cancellation of elections in Mariupol. And all because the ballot papers were printed in Akhmetov’s printing house. Poroshenko, therefore, simply does not allow Akhmetov to install his own mayor in the city where he owns two metallurgical plants.
So there will be no even formal local government in one of the largest industrial cities of Donbass.
4) I have deep disrespect for Mr. Dobkin. This comrade turned out to be a coward and a traitor. This man leaked the Russian anti-fascist protest in Kharkov during the Russian Spring. Mikhail Markovich will be dealt with about this later - when the first capital of the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Republic is liberated by the Armed Forces of Novorossiya.
But with all my contempt for Dobkin, I cannot help but say that the Central Election Commission of Ukraine acted with him in the most villainous way: it refused to register him as a candidate for deputy of the Kharkov Regional Council on the list of the “Opposition Bloc.”
And it’s clear why. Because in Kyiv they understand that, be that as it may, Dobkin remains a popular figure in Kharkov among part of the population, so his participation in the elections can bring serious interest to the Opposition Bloc. That's why it wasn't registered.
5) I personally don’t understand why the hell Maria Gaidar, a native of Moscow, is running for the Odessa Regional Council. Is she from Odessa? She lives in Odessa for almost a week. How does she know about the problems of the city?
The fact that Masha Gaidar is running has nothing to do with local government. This is a PR campaign for Saakashvili, whom the State Department sent to Ukraine to make Odessa a Potemkin village. They say that reforms are being carried out in Ukraine. Today Masha lives in Odessa, and tomorrow she will live in London or New York.
Therefore, people like Masha should not be allowed to participate in elections, there must be at least some kind of residency requirement, but Ukrainian legislation allows that this is possible.
This is nonsense when Dnepropetrovsk resident Korban is going to run for mayor of Kyiv. After all, we need to deal with local problems. After all, the post of mayor is not a political position, but an economic position. Candidates must be connected to the area they are expected to govern if they win. Otherwise it is profanation.
Therefore, for all the above reasons, these elections cannot be recognized as legitimate and free.
Instead of real self-government, there will be the power of Kyiv, the power of the junta
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