Bill to limit mayoral terms violates Constitution – Association of Ukrainian Cities. VIDEO
Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, Oleksandr Slobozhan, spoke about the negative consequences for all community residents in the event the draft law limiting the number of mayoral terms is passed, as well as about international studies on such term limits.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press service of the AUC.
"The bill has not been registered yet. We hope that following such extensive public discussion and the strong negative reaction in society, it will not be registered at all.
This concerns each and every one of us, not just mayors, because it constitutes a direct violation of several articles of the Constitution — most importantly, the right ‘to vote and to be elected’. Such restrictions would affect all municipalities, particularly cities.
At the Association of Ukrainian Cities, we conducted an analysis: in nearly 400 municipalities classified as cities, the mayors would be limited in their powers. If we speak about regional centers, then with the exception of three cities (Kharkiv, Chernivtsi, and Lutsk) all regional centers would be affected. Therefore, saying this only applies to Kyiv and not to others is incorrect. In terms of city mayors, it would affect more than 83% of those currently holding office. It is also a violation of citizens’ rights — both the right to elect and the right to be elected."
"In Poland, a study was conducted by their Supreme Audit Office. The main argument behind introducing any term limits — when this issue is discussed — is usually to reduce corruption-related offenses. The narrative being promoted is that limiting the number of terms local government heads can serve will reduce corruption. However, the Polish institution proved that there is no correlation whatsoever — and in fact, corruption risks tend to increase when such limits are imposed, because it undermines long-term development strategies.
In October 2013, a similar bill was registered in the Ukrainian parliament. It also proposed limiting the terms of village, settlement, and city mayors. The approach was slightly different — the restrictions were to apply starting from the next term. What is currently being discussed, however, directly violates the Constitution, as it proposes retroactive limitations," Slobozhan said.
