Snap mayoral and city council elections were held in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

on 25 May 2008. The election, originally scheduled to be held alongside nationwide 2010 local elections, was called by the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

by a 246–5 vote on March 18 amid

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

allegations involving the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Mayor

Leonid Chernovetskyi Leonid Mykhaylovych Chernovetskyi (; born 25 November 1951) is a former Mayor of Kyiv, the capital (city), capital of Ukraine, from 2006 until the summer of 2012. He was a successful businessman, founder and controlling stakeholder of the Pravex ...

. The local election determined the new

Mayor of Kyiv The Head of Kyiv City (), unofficially and more commonly the Mayor of Kyiv (), is a city official elected by popular vote who serves as a head of the Kyiv city state administration (the capital of Ukraine) and a chairperson the Kyiv City Counc ...

, as well as the composition of the 120-seat

Kyiv City Council Kyiv City Council (, ), also known as Kyivrada (), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The members of city council are directly elected by Kyivans and the council is chaired by the M ...

. The Ukrainian parliament assigned the job of determining the election costs to the

Central Election Commission of Ukraine The Central Election Commission of Ukraine (, commonly abbreviated as , ); sometimes referred to as the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine) is a permanent and independent collegiate body of the Ukrainian state that acts on the basis of th ...

, working in partnership with the Kyiv City Territorial Election Commission. The Kyiv CTEC designated March 26 as the date for the start of

election campaigning A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

. In all, seven parties and blocs passed the 3% threshold needed to gain seats in the Kyiv City Council. The incumbent

was officially declared the winner of the mayoral election on May 31. Yurii Lozovskyi, Secretary of the Kyiv CTEC, said that the voter turnout was estimated at 53-54%. The electoral commission said that the elections were largely clear and fair without any major incidents, but that the largest electoral violation was voter shopping. Although, legally, next Kyiv local elections had to take place in 2013, eventually they were postponed and took place on 25 May 2014 as a part of the

2014 Ukrainian local elections The 2014 Ukrainian local elections took place on 25 May 2014, four years after the conclusion of the last local elections, which took place in October 2010. The elections occurred during the political crisis in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukraini ...

Candidates, parties, and blocs

In all, seventy-nine candidates were registered by the Kyiv Territorial Electoral Commission for the upcoming mayoral election. Candidates from some of the main political parties included: * the

Mayor

, from the Christian Liberal Party of Ukraine. He was facing allegations of

and illegal

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

of Kyiv territories, * Vitaliy Klychko, a politician in the Kyiv City Council and former

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, * Oleh Tyahnybok, from the

All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" The All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" (), commonly known as V.O. Svoboda or simply Svoboda, political party in Ukraine. It has been led by Oleh Tyahnybok since 2004. Its predecessor, the Social-National Party of Ukraine (SNPU) formed and officiall ...

, * Vladyslav Kaskyv, from the Civil Party "PORA"; * Vice-Prime Minister

Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov (, ; born 31 March 1964) is a Ukrainians, Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptists in Ukraine, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukra ...

, from the

Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc () was the name of the bloc of political parties in Ukraine led by Yulia Tymoshenko since 2001. In November 2011, the participation of blocs of political parties in parliamentary elections was banned.

and the

Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc The Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (, Russian language, Russian: Блок Наша Украина – Народная Самооборона, ''Blok Nasha Ukraina – Narodnaya Samooborona,'' NUNS; until 2007 named Our Ukraine Bloc) w ...

; * Vasyl Horbal, from the

Party of Regions A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

; A total of 37 parties and blocs participated in the Kyiv City Council election. These included both national (e.g.

, Our Ukraine) and local political parties (e.g. Leonid Chernovetskyi Bloc).

Opinion polling

According to a telephone

poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...

conducted prior to the election by the Razumkov Centre, 25.2% of the respondents said they would support Vitaliy Klychko for the position of mayor, 24.9% support Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi, 10% support the former city mayor

Oleksandr Omelchenko Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Omelchenko (; 9 August 1938 – 25 November 2021) was a Ukrainian politician. He served as the Mayor of Kyiv from 1999 to 2006. Omelchenko was also a People's Deputy of Ukraine from 2007 to 2012. Omelchenko was the P ...

, 6% support current Vice-Prime Minister

, and 5.4% said they support the

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Yuriy Lutsenko. A different poll conducted by the Center of Political and Marketing Studies Sotsis, showed that 22.8% of the respondents support the incumbent mayor, 22% support Vitaliy Klychko, 11.5% support Oleksandr Omelchenko, 6.3% support Verkhovna Rada Deputy Mykola Tomenko, and 5.7% support Yuriy Lutsenko.

Results

Mayoral election

City Council election

Aftermath

Calls for another snap election

On 12 December 2008

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( Hrihyan born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been ...

announced at a news briefing that she was confident that early mayoral elections would be held again in Kyiv.Tymoshenko Confident That Early Mayoral Elections Will Be Repeated In Kyiv
, Ukrainian News Agency (December 12, 2008) Day before, the Kyivenerho utility company began cutting the supply of hot water to about 5,000 homes in Kyivbecause of the Kyiv State City Administration's failure to compensate the company for the difference between the tariffs charged by Kyivenerho and the actual cost of its services. Following the event, Tymoshenko accused

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of using money from the local budget to finance his election campaign. On 6 February 2009, the Vitali Klitschko Bloc stated it will apply to the

, the Cabinet of Ministers, the

National Security and Defense Council The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, ( NSDCU; , ''RNBOU'') or RNBO, is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense. It is a state agency tasked wi ...

and the Kyiv Prosecutor's Office with a request to take into consideration the unlawfulness of Chernovetskyi's actions and to call another snap mayoral elections in the city. In the January of 2010 Verkhovna Rada Chairman

Volodymyr Lytvyn Volodymyr Mykhailovych Lytvyn (, ; born April 28, 1956) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician best known for being Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainian parliament. Having previously served in that position from 2002 until ...

stated he started preparing a law draft to conduct an early mayoral election in Kyiv on 30 May 2010, alongside

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

election. Lytvyn said that he "could not stand what was going on in Kyiv any longer" and that his own Lytvyn Bloc would take part in the election. A resolution setting another snap election in the capital city for the 30 May 2010 was registered in the

on 18 January, but was never included in the agenda, being later withdrawn on 16 February.Ukrainian parliament cancels mayor's election date of May 30

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...

(February 16, 2010) After then-incumbent Mayor Chernovetskyi had tendered his resignation on 1 June 2012,Hereha sends petition to parliament on holding of early mayoral election in Kyiv

(19 July 2012) a petition to the

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

calling to hold an early mayoral election in the city was initiated. Although, it looked that the next Kyiv local election was set for 2012 nevertheless;Party of Regions leader: 'Pre-term mayoral elections in Kyiv are pointless'

(November 18, 2011) However, by the January 2013 the Verkhovna Rada had set no date for these elections. Legally they had to take place in 2013,CEC member: Kyiv City Council to be elected for five years in upcoming election

Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...

(16 February 2013)Rada suggests to hold elections of Kyiv mayor, city council on June 2

(7 March 2013) but in May 2013 the

Constitutional Court of Ukraine The Constitutional Court of Ukraine (, ) is the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine interprets the Constitution of Ukraine in terms of laws and other legal acts. The Court initiated its ac ...

has set the date of the election to 25 October 2015. Eventually, regular elections for the position of

and 120-seats

took place on 25 May 2014 as a part of the nationwide 2014 local elections.Parliament sets elections for Kyiv mayor and Kyiv City Council deputies for May 25

(25 February 2014)

Faction chances since the elections

Severe changes occurred in the

following 2008. By the September 2011, seven new factions had been created (2 of which included just 2 deputies, and another one had only 3 deputies).Голови депутатських фракцій та груп Київради VI скликання
,

The winning bloc of the 2008 election, Leonid Chernovetskyi Bloc, disbanded itself on September 22, 2011,Chernovetsky Bloc in Kyiv City Council disbanded

(September 22, 2011) with all of its deputies later becoming non-partisan deputies in the city council. Such move has made

UDAR The Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform of Vitali Klitschko (, using the acronym UDAR Vitali Klitschko () translates to "strike" or "punch", ) is a Political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine headed by retired

(Vitali Klitschko Bloc until April 2011) the biggest faction with 12 deputies (3 deputies less compared to 2008 result), followed by the

faction with 10 deputies (4 deputies more).

saw 22 deputies leaving the faction since the election. In January 2013 the UDAR faction consisted of 13 deputies, while the Party of Regions faction had fallen down to 8 deputies. This made the People's Party faction the second biggest with 11 deputies. The Democratic Party of Ukraine faction contained 10 deputies. Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc had lost 1 more deputy and stood at the total of 9 deputies. Same as factions "Social Justice" and "Initiative". "Social Justice", "Initiative" and the faction of the Democratic Party of Ukraine were created in 2011. In June 2013 the People's Party faction contained 4 people. The other factions membership had stayed stable. Following the 2008 election results,

(BYuT),

(BYuT), Mykola Tomenko (BYuT), Mykola Katerynchuk (BMK), Anatoliy Khostykoyev (BYuT), Stepan Chernovetskyi (BLCh) and Tetiana Donets (BYuT), gave up their seats due to the dual mandate rule.Список депутатів нової Верховної Ради

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(11 November 2012) The next person in the party list becomes the city council deputy, when someone gives up their seat.Mayor's son to give up his seat in city council

(December 22, 2009)

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{2010 Ukrainian local elections 2008 local election Local elections in Ukraine 2008 elections in Ukraine City council elections Mayoral elections in Ukraine Elections in Kyiv 2000s in Kyiv May 2008 in Ukraine Klitschko brothers