The Chairman of the Regional Council proposes to reduce the number of members of local councils

The Regional Council Chairman Volodymyr Chubriko advocates that the number of the local councils deputies to be elected in the elections in 2015 should be reduced.  The Chairman said that during a press conference.

"The number of deputies of local councils should definitely be reduced.  The ideal number for regional councils is 90 deputies, and depending on the electoral system, even less. And for Uzhgorod city council, 40 deputies would be quite enough"- Volodymyr Chubirko suggests.

Also, the Chairman of the Regional Council believes that the next regular elections to local councils should take place in autumn, after the decentralization of power.

"Unfortunately, the government has made ​​no real steps for decentralization. Communities should be granted the rights and opportunity to realize these rights. Currently, local councils have almost no influence on the budget, because it is formed in Kyiv.  It is necessary to complete decentralization and to hold elections in autumn. But with the current pace of the Verkhovna Rada regarding amendments to the Constitution, it is doubtful that MPs will make it by autumn. Elections must be held under the new rules. Electoral system should be updated not according to the needs of the present but those of the future, as they do in Europe. Elections to regional councils should be held with open party lists. In lower level councils, for the sake of community representation, there should be either mixed or majoritarian electoral system. But people must have a responsible attitude to elections and choose those who will change their lives," – Volodymyr Chubirko said.