Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said that there are no direct legislative prohibitions of the electoral process in the merged territorial communities.

"Any obstacles to the electoral process in the merged territorial communities, which are being actively formed in Ukraine… are unacceptable. There is no statutory prohibition on the desire of people to unite and develop their territories," the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers said referring to Groysman.

During a special meeting with the leaders of the Central Election Commission and the Ministry of Justice, devoted to the issues of unlocking elections in more than a hundred newly created merged communities, the premier stressed that the existing legal conflicts led to the fact that the elections scheduled for October of this year were in jeopardy. And this, in turn, threatens the process of further decentralization in Ukraine," he said.

In this connection, the head of the government called on the parties to find an acceptable mechanism and ensure the holding of elections in the merged territorial communities in November or not later than the end of the current year, 2018. "This step, the PM is sure, will be understandable both for voters, for communities, and for the government. No one may keep people out of the loop," the press service noted.