Odesa Regional Council gets rid of two deputies ahead of schedule

The Odesa Regional Council has prematurely terminated the powers of two deputies. The decision was made on the basis of personal statements by the deputies and has already been submitted to the territorial election commission for official registration.

The decision was made at a session of the Odesa Regional Council.

The Odesa Regional Council has prematurely terminated the powers of two deputies of the VIII convocation. These are Serhiy Bib, elected from the territorial electoral district No. 8 on the list of the Opposition Platform - For Life party, and Vitaliy Vitikach, a deputy from the district No. 9 from the Servant of the People party.

The reason for this was the personal statements of the deputies about the early termination of their powers. According to Ukrainian law, such a decision can be made on the basis of a deputy's application, as well as in accordance with the law "On Local Self-Government in Ukraine" and the law "On the Status of Deputies of Local Councils."

The draft resolution was prepared by the regional council's staff, and its submission for consideration was approved by the chairman of the council. After the decision is adopted, the regional council is obliged to send it to the Odesa Regional Territorial Election Commission, which will officially formalize the early termination of deputy powers.

The council's decision concerns only the deputy mandates and does not affect other aspects of local government activities. The appointment of new deputies from the districts or redistribution of mandates will take place in accordance with the procedure provided for by the law and the regulations of the territorial election commission.

Vitaliy Vitykach, 44, entrepreneur, co-founder of Smarsi LLC, a company that processes data and publishes information on the Internet. Serhii Biba, 63, pensioner, MP of the OPFL since 2020, who, according to media reports, was mentioned in the so-called Didenko tapes.

Recently, detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine served a notice of suspicion to Hryhorii Didenko, the head of the Odesa Regional Council, and his wife, MP Yulia Didenko, of declaring false information. According to the investigation, the official and the MP failed to declare property worth more than UAH 8 million in their annual property declarations for 2021-2023.

Анна Бальчінос