The issue of establishing a limit on the number of terms for mayors is actively being discussed in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Currently, existing legislation allows city mayors to be re-elected as many times as they wish, which, according to public activists, fosters the formation of corrupt ties and abuse of power at the local level. The absence of restrictions creates conditions for political monopoly and stable informal alliances between representatives of power and business.
Petition to Limit the Terms of Mayors
An official petition has already been posted on the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, proposing to establish clear terms for mayors’ tenure. The authors of the document point out that in several Ukrainian cities, the same individual has held the position of community head for over a decade. In particular, the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, has been in office for nearly 20 years, while Vitali Klitschko has been leading Kyiv for 11 years. In Dnipro, Borys Filatov has been in power for ten years, and the absolute record holder is Oleksiy Reva, who has headed the Bakhmut community for over 30 years.
“At the moment, any person can hold an elected position as the head of local self-government for an unlimited number of terms, which is happening in many settlements across Ukraine. This leads to a long-term political monopoly at the local level. Local power is intertwined with business, forming a single corrupt syndicate,” the petition states.
The authors of the petition insist that long-term tenure contributes to the usurpation of power and the development of local corruption schemes. Among the examples mentioned is Kyiv, where, according to public organizations, close ties have formed between representatives of power and developers, creating favorable conditions for corrupt practices and informal distribution of key city resources.
Impact on Political Memory and Discussion Outcomes
Another factor that allows mayors to remain in office for decades is the distortion of political memory, experts say. Officials and politicians actively work to ensure that the public forgets their failures, instead focusing on their achievements and forming a positive image in the media space.
“What comes to the front page is the recognizability of the politician. That’s already half the success. Some politicians manage to be under one flag, then under the opposite one…,” notes Anatoliy Pohorilyi, co-founder of the NGO ‘Heritage. Kyiv’. “Two terms is quite a lot to show how ‘great’ a manager you are. About 10 years is a sufficient time to implement all your organizational and administrative ideas in the city. If you haven’t succeeded in that time, then it’s probably not your position. I think that after 10 years in power, another five years won’t bring anything fundamentally good for the city.”
Limiting the number of terms for mayors will allow for the renewal of local government, reduce the risks of corruption, and create conditions for the emergence of new leaders, believe the initiators of the changes. More details about the initiative can be found in a video on YouTube.