Kherson City Council loses almost half of its deputies

Since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Kherson City Council has not held its plenary sessions and has not been functioning "as intended." In September 2022, the Kherson City Military Administration was established, and in November 2022, the Verkhovna Rada granted its head the powers of the Kherson City Council, the mayor, and the executive committee.

Experts of the all-Ukrainian civic campaign "Certification of Local Council Deputies" have calculated how many deputies currently remain de jure members of the Kherson City Council.

In fact, for more than two years, Kherson City Council as a collective representative body has ceased to function. The deputy corps does not convene meetings, and after the de-occupation of the city, all local government functions in Kherson are now performed by the head of the city military administration, which was established by the President of Ukraine on September 19, 2022. The first head of the administration was Halyna Luhova, the secretary of the Kherson City Council. On November 3, 2022, on the eve of the liberation of Kherson, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, by its Resolution No. 2706-IX, transferred to the head of the Kherson City Military Administration the powers of the Kherson City Council, its executive committee, and the mayor of Kherson.

On March 2, 2023, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy replaced the Secretary of the Kherson City Council, Halyna Luhova, with military prosecutor Roman Mrochko as the head of the Kherson MMA. Three and a half months later, on June 12, 2023, Halyna Luhova was dismissed from the position of Secretary of the Kherson City Council by an order of Roman Mrochko, which stated that "during the period of martial law in Ukraine and 30 days after its termination or cancellation... there is no need to exercise the powers of the Secretary of the Kherson City Council... considering this a circumstance that makes it impossible for the Secretary of the Council to serve."

From that moment on, local self-government in Kherson, represented by elected deputies, began to rapidly lose in the number of deputies and the activity of their participation in the political and public life of the city. As a result, the process of early resignation of deputies begins.

Which deputies resigned?

In 2020, 54 deputies were elected to the Kherson City Council. The elected representatives formed five factions: "Ihor Kolikhayev's Party for Us to Live Here (17 deputies), OPFL (11), Servant of the People (10), Volodymyr Saldo's Bloc (nine), and European Solidarity (seven).

Photo: Certification of local council members

According to the city council's website, as of September 19, 2024, 19 deputies of the Kherson City Council lost their mandates: either they resigned of their own free will or were terminated early. The powers of 17 deputies were terminated upon personal request. Of these, one deputy resigned in 2021, five deputies resigned in 2023, and 11 deputies resigned in 2024.

Five MPs from the faction "Ihor Kolikhayev's Party "We Live Here" resigned from their seats: Yurii Rozhkov (terminated on March 5, 2024), Andrii Dmytriiev (March 12, 2024), Mykola Dmytriiev (March 20, 2024), Yevhen Trotskyi (May 21, 2024), and Ivan Bebko (September 11, 2024).

Five more MPs who were elected from the banned OPFL party have written letters of resignation: Olena Breslavets (December 17, 2021), Natalia Ustinova (August 23, 2023), Tigran Mkrtchyan (March 22, 2024), Olena Mazur and Anton Khmaro (July 3, 2024).

Three MPs from the banned party Bloc of Volodymyr Saldo also resigned of their own accord: Ihor Pastukh and Olha Vynohradova (September 27, 2023), and Iryna Tsenker (September 11, 2024).

The Servant of the People faction lost two MPs: Olena Matviyets (September 18, 2023) and Oksana Matusevych (February 29, 2024).

Two members of the European Solidarity faction resigned their seats: Oksana Pastukh (September 27, 2023) and Vitaliy Yosypenko (May 21, 2024).

Two members of the city council were prematurely deprived of their mandates by a court decision, which found them guilty of high treason under Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Volodymyr Saldo and Ihor Semenchev Sr.

Since the Kherson City Election Commission is currently not functioning, the process of replacing the deputies who have left the city council is not being carried out. The city council currently has 35 deputies.

Photo: Certification of local council deputies

It should be added that six more current members of the Kherson city council are under investigation.

Four have received official suspicions of treason: Ihor Zhytchenko (OPFL), Ihor Semenchev Jr. (Bloc of Volodymyr Saldo), Aliona Rotova (OPFL), and Ilya Karamalikov (We Live Here). Of these, only Ilya Karamalikov has been in pre-trial detention since 2022. According to media reports, MP Yuriy Poputko (Servant of the People) was suspected of abuse of power in March 2024, and Roman Pidperyhora (Volodymyr Saldo Bloc) has been under investigation since 2017 on suspicion of taking a bribe.

According tothe civic campaign"Certification of Local Council Deputies" and information published in other media and social networks, it can be stated that probably more than half of the current deputies are outside Kherson: there are deputies who are in the ranks of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, some have left the country or other cities of Ukraine, and some are in the temporarily occupied territory. There are several reasons for the mass resignation of deputies in 2023-2024: the elected representatives do not understand how to fulfill their powers when there is a military administration in the city, and the interaction between the deputy corps and the military administration is not established. Others want to have a legal basis for traveling abroad to visit family or friends, and some want to avoid possible meetings and questions from Ukrainian law enforcement agencies about their activities.

Володимир Шкаєв