President to propose draft law on holding elections in occupied areas of Donbas
The bill on local elections in the uncontrolled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions is being drafted today by the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, the chairman of the parliamentary Opposition Bloc faction Yuriy Boiko has said.
"The following four provisions of the bill are most important: elections must take place in accordance with the Ukrainian legislation, Ukrainian media must be able to cover the elections there and election commissions must be formed under the supervision of international observers," the press service of the Opposition Bloc said quoting Boiko on Monday.
"All this should be taken into account in the new bill," Boiko said.
Batkivschyna (Fatherland) faction leader Yulia Tymoshenko said that preparations for a draft law on local elections in occupied Donbas were almost completed.
"I know that the draft law elaboration in the occupied territories has almost come to an end. I emphasize: not in areas which have been liberated [by Ukrainian army units], but in territories occupied by Kremlin-led militants. This means "they want democratic elections" to be held in occupied territories," Tymoshenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
According to Tymoshenko, if the president proposes a measure providing for the liberation of occupied territories in Donbas, it will tantamount to surrender the territories.
Tymoshenko said parliament would pass the first reading of the bill.
"I have no doubt. There is a parliamentary majority that will support the draft bill on holding elections in the occupied territories. These two political factions the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and People's Front, as well as the pro-Kremlin Opposition Bloc members, will support the measure. This will lead to the further destruction of Ukraine's territorial integrity," Tymoshenko said.