The Odessa City Council announced the names of five new council members from the "Trust the Deeds" party

In Odesa, during a city council session, five new council members received their mandates to replace their predecessors. The Territorial Election Commission confirmed their authority following a prolonged conflict within the “Trust the Deeds” party.

The decision was adopted during a session of the Odesa City Council, which was streamed online by Intent. 

The meeting was attended by Yevgeny Grigoriev, chairman of the territorial election commission, who was given the floor to announce the decision regarding the replacement of Odessa City Council members.

The new council members are Zakhar Petrovitsky, Oleksiy Kislovsky, Vladislav Kasatkin, Iryna Iordanova, and Viktoria Bohdan. They are to receive voting cards so they can fully participate in the work of the city council.

Councilmember Oleksandr Slavsky asked whether the list of newly elected council members was final, as disputes had arisen during committee meetings. Yevhen Hryhoriev confirmed that the list was final, after which the new council members were invited to receive their voting cards.

As reported by Intent, an attempt to resume the Odesa City Council session, scheduled for September 9, ended in failure due to a walkout by deputies from the “Trust the Deeds” party. The meeting was intended to be a continuation of the session that began on July 10.

Party representatives refused to participate in the city council’s work until council member Vasyl Ieremiya stopped voting and left the chamber. 

The conflict escalated in August when the “Trust the Deeds” partyannounced its intention to recall four members of the Odesa City Council. The council members in question were Oleg Bryndak, Marina Lozovenko, Oleksandr Matveev, and Vasyl Ieremiya.

However, Ieremiya challenged this decision in court. The court prohibited the “Trust the Deeds” party from recalling him from the city council until a decision was reached in this dispute. Despite the court injunction, the party held a local convention and decided to recall the council member.

Анна Літман