The Odessa City Council session was adjourned before it even began

Ihor Koval, Acting Mayor of Odesa, announced a recess until July 14 for the city council session that was scheduled to take place today, July 8.

As Ihor Koval stated at the meeting, he made this decision after consulting with the leaders of the political factions.

In fact, during registration at the entrance to the meeting hall, 34 council members were counted; after determining that a quorum was present, the session began, but they were only able to conduct the part that did not directly involve voting—in other words, the ceremonial part. They also inducted a new council member—Maria Popravka, who represents the “Trust the Deeds” party.

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Maria Popravka. PHOTO: Intent/Natalia Dovbysh

But when electronic registration was conducted to begin the session and elect its working bodies, it turned out that there were only 32 council members in the chamber. This is fewer than the number required to establish a quorum.

Ihor Koval did not explain why a quorum could not be reached, but journalist Iryna Hryb stated on the eve of the session that the city council had encountered a problem regarding the election of a representative of veterans’ organizations to be included in the executive committee. According to the journalist, the “Trust the Deeds” faction is proposing Vadym Shipulin for this position, a move that has already sparked discussions in the chamber during previous sessions.

However, Ihor Koval stated at the time that he would not yield to pressure and suggested that veterans’ organizations meet to decide on a candidate. Ultimately, according to Iryna Hryb, the plan was to propose two candidates— Vadym Shipulin and Denys Kartashov —and to appoint both as veterans’ representatives to the executive committee, but the journalist noted that not everyone agreed with this. Both candidates are veterans of the war with Russia, and Denys Kartashov is currently an active-duty military officer.

The preliminary agenda for this session consists of over 180 items, most of which concern finances and land. Land issues make up the largest group—120 items—and concern: granting citizens permission to develop land-management projects for the allocation of land plots for lease; the renewal or termination of land lease agreements; amendments to lease agreements; and the revision of rent payments; granting permits to business entities to develop technical land-management documentation regarding the inventory of municipally owned land, technical land-management documentation regarding the establishment (restoration) of land parcel boundaries on-site (in the field), technical land-management documentation regarding the division and consolidation of land parcels, etc. The city council will submit all these matters to the Odesa City Military Administration for consideration.

Кирило Бойко