The 2014 Ukrainian local elections took place on 25 May 2014, four years after the conclusion of the last local elections, which took place in October 2010. The elections occurred during the political crisis in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. Although the Verkhovna Rada did not schedule early local elections for entire Ukraine, it announced early elections in a number of places throughout Ukraine, including mayoral elections for some large cities, such as Odessa and Kiev. Overall, mayoral elections occurred in 43 cities, 27 settlements, and 200 villages, in addition to 2 city council and 3 village council elections, throughout 14 of Ukraine's 24 oblasts, and were also scheduled to take place in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. No Ukrainian mayoral or council elections took place in the Crimea, however, as, in March 2014 it was unilaterally annexed by Russia. In June 2014, the Verkhovna Rada scheduled early mayoral elections for ten additional cities to be held on October 26, 2014.
Changes in the law
On April 8, 2014, the Ukrainian parliament passed a new law regarding the local elections in the country. The new law allows local elections to be conducted concurrently with presidential elections. It also formalized the status of election observers, officially making them a part of the electoral process, and expanding their rights and authority. The new law also provides for the creation of territorial election commissions, provisions for removing local election officials before the end of their term, and changes to how the country's central election commission leadership is appointed. On April 10, the parliament proposed to amend the local elections law to require a runoff vote for mayoral elections in cities with populations over 500,000, such as Kiev and Odessa, but the proposal failed a vote in parliament.
Election locations
The Verkhovna Rada, the parliament of the Ukraine, scheduled the elections for Kiev's mayor and city council for 25 May 2014, which were contested concurrently with the country's presidential election. In late February, the parliament announced early mayoral elections for 27 cities throughout Ukraine:
On March 15, the Verkhovna Rada announced early elections for 228 localities throughout the country for 25 May 2014. In addition, the parliament also announced early elections for five mayors throughout the country:
On March 17, the parliament announced early elections for the Cherkasy City Council. On March 25, the deadline for announcing early elections according to the Ukraine's electoral law, the Verkhovna Rada announced mayoral elections for 10 additional cities throughout the country:
