Officially: elections in Lugansk People’s Republic scheduled for Nov 1

Head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic Igor Plotnitsky has signed a decree to elect heads of 14 municipal and district administrations on Nov 1 2015.

The Lugansk Information Center quotes Plotnitsky as saying that this will be the first stage of local elections in the republic.

“We have lots of other problems needing money. So, for the time being, we can give funds only for this stage. The next stages will be held as soon as we have necessary political and financial prerequisites. Our key priority today is to socially protect our people, to restart our manufacturing companies and to restore our infrastructure,” Plotnitsky said.

He specified that the Nov 1 elections would cover the cities of Lugansk, Krasny Luch, Stakhanov, Alchevsk, Kirov, Rovenki, Pervomaysk and Bryanka and the districts of Antratsitovsky, Perevalsky, Lutuginsky, Krasnodonsky, Sverdlovsky and Slavyanoserbsky.

Earlier EADaily quoted the heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics as saying that Kyiv is defaulting on its commitments to fulfill the Minsk agreements. So, they are going to do it on a unilateral basis. And one of their first measures will be local elections. In Donetsk they are scheduled for Oct 18, in Lugansk for Nov 1.

According to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, these elections will have destructive consequences for the peace process in Donbass. In Ukraine local elections are scheduled for Oct 25.