28/04/2014 20:24
The candidate for Kyiv Mayor from the European Party of Ukraine, People’s Deputy of Ukraine Mykola Katerynchuk registered in the Parliament a draft law “On amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine (regarding the right of Kyiv residents to local self-government)” (no. 4788 of 28 April, 2014), which provides the abolition of the current Law of Ukraine “On capital of Ukraine”.
In the draft law Mykola Katerynchuk proposes to extend the Law of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine” to the capital of Ukraine. The special status, that Kyiv has as a capital of Ukraine, will be determined in a separate section of the Act, which aims to provide a unified approach to the organization and activities of agencies and officials of local government in Kyiv.
“While the government, threatened with the secession of Ukraine, is ready to give any concessions to Donbas and extend its autonomy to carry out the reform of local government, the only city in Ukraine, where residents can not influence the government, is Kyiv. Despite lively debates on self-government, special elections of Kyiv Mayor, appointed on May 25, 2014, will be probably held in one round, which may again lead to the election of a person that will not be supported by the vast majority of Kyiv residents. And Kyiv will stay under control of a person “from the center” – the head of the KSCA”, – is said in the explanatory note.
“Kyiv citizens have the same rights to self-government as residents of any other Ukrainian city: a right to elect a mayor with broad powers, rather than endure another temporary head of the administration, to influence the allocation of the budget, to form governments in the community, to solve the problems of their yard, neighborhood or district. Until these issues are resolved, any election under the current law is only a profanity. That is why, it is important to consolidate the equal rights of Kyiv citizens to the local self-government now, before the constitutional reform , which, I am sure, will be delayed more than once”, – said the candidate for Kyiv Mayor.
The draft law maintains the basic guarantees of Kyiv capital status and imposes additional obligations on local authorities and executive authorities and provides the additional state rights for these agencies.
However, this draft law provides a number of guarantees of the inviolability of the right to local self-government, including the appointment of the chairman of KSCA and heads of regional state administrations from candidates, elected as chairmen of the respective councils, and ensures the appointment of the City Secretary Council and Vice-Chairman of the District Council.
“This legislative initiative requires the following steps: Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine. Therefore, next week we will offer the Parliament, among others, a provision that would provide the capital to remain not 50 %, as it is now, but 100 % tax on personal income (almost 80 % of the revenue of the capital budget). At this stage, the decision will significantly improve the financial situation in Kyiv”, – said Mykola Katerynchuk.
Press Service
European Party of Ukraine