2020 Kharkiv local elections

2020 Kharkiv local elections
	Mayoral election
← 2015 2021 →
Turnout	31.36% 11.05 pp
Mayor before election; Hennadiy Kernes; Revival	Elected mayor ; Hennadiy Kernes; Kernes Bloc
	City Council election
← 2015 2025 →
	All 84 seats in Kharkiv City Council; 43 seats needed for a majority
	Results by district
Oleksandr Novak; Revival	Ihor Terekhov; Kernes Bloc

Local elections were held in Kharkiv on 25 October 2020 to elect the Mayor of Kharkiv and the 84-seat Kharkiv City Council as a part of wider 2020 Ukrainian local elections, which took place on the same day.^[3]

Electoral system

These were the first elections held under the newly adopted Electoral Code, which provided a fully proportional electoral system at the both local and national levels.^[4]

Kharkiv was divided into 7 districts with an unfixed amount of seats. Each party had to form two lists: the first is united for the entire city, and the second is for individual territorial districts. The party would receive a mandate if it overcomes the 5% threshold. In this case, the No.1 candidate on the list is guaranteed to receive a seat. Candidates who receive 25% or more of the electoral quota of their district get to the top of the list in descending order of the number of votes for them. In the case of an equal number of votes, the order of candidates will remain as determined by the party at the time of voting. After the candidates who passed to the council according to the quota, the rest are placed in the order determined by the party.

Electoral quota is the number of votes needed to obtain one seat. The electoral quota is determined by the territorial election commission. For this, the commission needed to divide the total number of votes for those parties that won at least 5 percent of the voters' votes and are now participating in the distribution of mandates by the number of mandates. The number of seats into which the electoral votes had to be divided is the difference between the number of seats in the council and the number of guaranteed seats for each party that entered the council (one seat per party).^[4]

Mayoral candidates

Hennadiy Kernes - Kernes began his political career being elected to the Kharkiv City Council in 1998, serving three terms as the leader of the "New Kharkiv - New Opportunities" independent bloc.^[5] In 2006 he was elected to the council as a member of the Party of Regions and had been the incumbent mayor of Kharkiv since he won the 2010 Ukrainian local elections.^[6]^[7]^[8] Kernes was initially described as pro-Russian and was accused of organizing and supporting anti-Maidan forces in Kharkiv during Euromaidan.^[9] After his criminal trial for allegedly torturing Euromaidan participants was dropped, Kernes pivoted to being pro-Ukrainian, switching his party affiliation to Revival and was able to win re-election in the 2015 Ukrainian local elections.^[10]^[11]^[12] Kernes also unsuccessfully sought a seat in the Verkhovna Rada during the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election for the Opposition Bloc, getting only 3.23%, short of the 5% to enter parliament.^[13] In late 2019 Kernes effectively took over a small local party, "Unitary European Ukraine" and transformed it into Kernes Bloc — Successful Kharkiv as a vehicle for him and his supporters to establish themselves as the primer political force within the city, not beholden to any existing national parties.^[14]^[15]
Oleksandr Feldman - Feldman is one of Kharkiv's leading oligarchs, worth USD$287m, making him the 35th richest man in Ukraine.^[16]^[17] President of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, Feldman was elected to the Verkhovna Rada in the 2002 Ukrainian parliamentary election for United Ukraine, joining the party in its merger with Batkivshchyna.^[18] He would be re-elected in 2006 and 2007 as a member of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc before leaving the party and joining Party of Regions, citing an uncomfortable amount of nationalism within the former. Feldman would be re-elected in 2012, and became a political independent for his re-election in 2014 before joining Our Land and being re-elected in 2019, shortly afterwards he joined Opposition Platform — For Life and was named the party's candidate for mayor.^[19]^[20]
Oleksiy Kucher - Kucher is a Kherson native and attended the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, choosing to stay in Kharkiv after his graduation.^[21] Kucher was elected to the Verkhovna Rada in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election as a member of Servant of the People.^[22] On 19 October 2019, Kucher was appointed the Governor of Kharkiv Oblast by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and was named Servant of the People's candidate for the mayoral election.^[20]^[23]
Oleh Abramychev
Ihor Cherniak
Oleksandra Naryzhna
Mykyta Soloviov

Opinion polls

City Council election

Fieldwork date	Polling firm	Sample size																		Other	Lead
Fieldwork date	Polling firm	Sample size																		Other	Lead
25 October 2020	Liberty Report/Ukraine 24	12,765	—	—	9,2	1,7	1,5	1,1	—	—	—	2,1	17,0	12,4	0,4	0,7	6,4	39,5	5,4	2,6	22,5
Exit polls
5-11 October 2020	Dialogue	1,600	—	—	4,2	1,0	1,8	0,3	—	—	—	0,9	15,4	7,8	—	0,9	3,5	54,7	7,0	2,5	39,3
25-27 September 2020	Public Opinion	1,200	—	—	5,8	7,9	—	—	—	—	—	—	21,4	11,4	—	—	—	31,7	13,3	8,5^[a]	3,7
20-22 September 2020	Info Sapiens/IRI	600	—	0,5	11	1	1	1	3	0,2	0,3	2	15	11	1	—	6	31	5	11^[b]	16
25 January-17 February 2020	Rating/IRI	633	—	1,2	4,9	—	3,7	—	2,4	1,2	—	2,4	29,3	30,5	2,4	—	6,1	—	—	15,9	1,2
6 September-10 October 2019	Rating/IRI	689	—	—	3,4	—	1,1	—	14,8	—	—	2,3	17,0	48,9	1,1	—	4,6	—	—	6,8	31,9
6-11 November 2019	SMC	833	2,3	1,1	3,4	—	3,4	3,1	3,4	2,3	28,7	2,3	14,9	29,9	0,9	—	2,3	—	—	2,0	25,5
25 October 2015	2015 Kyiv local election		53,64	11,85	6,76	6,67	3,43	1,99	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	15,67	41,79

Mayoral election

Fieldwork date	Polling firm	Sample size	Kernes	Davtian	Abramychev	Feldman	Kucher	Svitlychna	Cherniak	Naryzhna	Solovyov	Yaroslavskyi	Other	Lead
Fieldwork date	Polling firm	Sample size											Other	Lead
25 October 2020	Liberty Report/Ukraine 24	12,765	57,9	—	6,2	12,1	12,0	—	4,5	2,4	1,2	1,0	2,7	45,8
Exit polls
20-22 September 2020	Info Sapiens/IRI	600	63	—	—	4	5	13	—	—	—	—	15^[c]	50
5-11 October 2020	Dialogue	1,600	79,8	—	1,6	7,3	5,3	—	2,3	0,5	0,6	1,2	1,4	72,5
6-11 November 2019	SMC	1,014	56,8	0,5	—	9,1	1,1	15,9	—	—	—	—	16,6	40,9
25 October 2015	2015 Kyiv local election		65,8	4,5		—	—	—		—	—	—	29,7	53,5

Results

City Council


19 7 34 7 7 7
Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Kernes Bloc — Successful Kharkiv	117,470	37.95	34	New
	Opposition Platform — For Life	64,892	20.96	19	New
	European Solidarity	27,843	8.99	9	+2
	Servant of the People	27,107	8.76	9	New
	Party of Shariy	20,266	6.55	7	New
	Svitlychna Bloc "Together!"	19,016	6.14	6	New
	Holos	6,659	2.15	0	New
	Our Land	5,936	1.92	0	–7
	Batkivshchyna	3,911	1.26	0	New
	Democratic Axe	3,647	1.18	0	New
	For the Future	2,985	0.96	0	New
	Victory of Palchevskyi	2,813	0.91	0	New
	Svoboda	2,380	0.77	0	New
	Party of Pensioners of Ukraine	2,095	0.68	0	New
	Strength and Honor	1,500	0.48	0	New
	Aktsent	574	0.19	0	New
	Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform	485	0.16	0	New
Total		309,579	100.00	84	0

Valid votes		309,579	95.83
Invalid/blank votes		13,456	4.17
Total votes		323,035	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,030,787	31.34
Source: CEC^[24]

Mayor


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Hennadiy Kernes	Kernes Bloc — Successful Kharkiv	195,044	61.52
	Oleksandr Feldman	Opposition Platform — For Life	46,278	14.60
	Oleksiy Kucher	Servant of the People	23,401	7.38
	Oleh Abramychev	European Solidarity	21,315	6.72
	Ihor Cherniak	Svitlychna Bloc "Together!"	10,085	3.18
	Oleksandra Naryzhna	Holos	6,282	1.98
	Mykyta Soloviov	Democratic Axe	4,199	1.32
	Denys Yaroslavskyi	Independent	3,233	1.02
	Serhii Kushnariov	Victory of Palchevskyi	2,471	0.78
	Ihor Prykhodko	Batkivshchyna	1,888	0.60
	Iryna Denysova	For the Future	1,371	0.43
	Valerii Bezlepkin	Independent	564	0.18
	Nataliia Pylypenko	Independent	558	0.18
	Heorhii Lahovskyi	Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform	349	0.11
Total			317,038	100.00

Valid votes			317,038	98.09
Invalid/blank votes			6,180	1.91
Total votes			323,218	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,030,787	31.36
Source: CEC^[24]

Aftermath

Incumbent mayor and front runner Kernes saw his health rapidly deteriorate in the days before the election and was last seen in public on 23 August 2020.^[25] On 17 September 2020 it was announced that Kernes was hospitalized in Germany for COVID-19 and he won the 25 October election from his hospital bed.^[20] On 9 December 2020, Kernes was sworn in as mayor without being present and it was announced on 11 December that Kernes had suffered a kidney failure.^[26] On 17 December, Kernes' close personal friend, Pavel Fuks, announced that Kernes had passed away due to complications of COVID-19, exasperated by his kidney failure.^[27] Ihor Terekhov would take over the Kernes Block, and a snap election for mayor was scheduled for 2021.

Notes

^ Against all - 3,7%
^ None of the above - 4%
^ None of the above - 9%

References

^ "Kernes wins elections for Kharkiv mayor with over 65% of vote". Interfax-Ukraine. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
^ Wilson, Andrew (29 October 2015). "Five lessons from the local elections in Ukraine". European Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
^ Вибори депутатів Верховної Ради Автономної Республіки Крим, обласних, районних, міських, районних у містах, сільських, селищних рад, сільських, селищних, міських голів 25 жовтня 2020 року Archived 2020-07-17 at the Wayback Machine / Календарний план основних організаційних заходів з підготовки та проведення місцевих виборів 25 жовтня 2020 року Archived 2020-09-07 at the Wayback Machine // Central Electoral Commission
^ ^a ^b Баркар, Дмитро (2020-08-06). "Місцеві вибори за новими правилами: як правильно проголосувати?". Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-10-29.
^ "Кернес Геннадий" [Short bio of Hennadiy Kernes]. LIGA. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
^ "Украина - Кернес Геннадий Адольфович - официальная биография мэра Харькова". DailyUA.
^ (in Ukrainian) Keys to cities. What is the secret of longevity of mayors, The Ukrainian Week (10 August 2020)
^ "Biography of Hennadiy Kernes" Archived 2020-12-18 at the Wayback Machine Official Hennadiy Kernes' Webcite
^ "Mayor of Ukraine's 2nd-biggest city shot in the back", New York Post, 28 April 2014; accessed 28 August 2014.
^ (in Ukrainian) Cases against Kernes stopped, Ukrayinska Pravda (30 July 2014)
The State Office of Public Prosecutor stopped a legal investigation against Kernes from - for diseases, Преступности.НЕТ (30 July 2014)
^ "Ukraine crisis: US and EU to intensify Russia sanctions". BBC. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
Ukraine mayor in critical condition after he was shot in the back, Los Angeles Times (28 April 2014)
^ ""Відродження" відправить у мери Харкова Кернеса, а за крісло мера Одеси буде боротися Фабрикант" ["Revival" will send the mayor of Kharkiv Kernes, and the seat of mayor of Odesa will fight Fabricant]. www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-04-20.
^ "Новинський і ще 5 "опоблоківців" проходять у Раду, а Колесніков – ні". Українська правда.
^ white collar hundred. "Відкритий реєстр юридичних осіб, без капчі та реєстрації". Відкритий реєстр юридичних осіб. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
^ "Кернес открывает второй фронт: зарегистрирован новый блок без "доверяй делам"". Kharkiv today (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-09-21.
^ "Форбс" оценил сотню самых богатых украинцев в 55 млрд. долларов (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-11-10.
^ "Фельдман Александр. ДОСЬЕ :: Персональный сайт Сергея Руденко". www.rudenko.kiev.ua. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
^ Daniel K. Eisenbud (March 10, 2014). "Ukrainian Jewish Committee: Russian claims of anti-Semitism in Crimea are lies, propaganda". Jerusalem Post.
^ (in Russian)/(website has automatic Google Translate option) Short bio, LIGA
^ ^a ^b ^c (in Ukrainian) Kharkiv, the votes in the mayoral election were counted: who wins and whether there will be a second round, UNIAN (4 November 2020)
^ "Кучер Олексій Володимирович". dovidka.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ "Some 254 MPs enter Rada from Servant of the People, 124 MPs from other parties, 46 MPs self-appointed". Interfax-Ukraine. July 26, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ "Decree of the President of Ukraine № 806/2019". Office of the President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Центральна виборча комісія України - WWW відображення ІАС "Місцеві вибори 2020". 2022-02-25. Archived from the original on 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
^ Kharkiv City Council denies reports on mayor's COVID-19 coma, UNIAN (15 September 2020)
^ (in Ukrainian) Kernes had kidney failure, Ukrayinska Pravda (11 December 2020)
^ Kharkiv mayor Kernes dies, Ukrinform (16 December 2020)
Помер Геннадій Кернес: мер Харкова, який виграв вибори з реанімації, BBC Ukrainian (17 December 2020) (in Ukrainian)

[24] Against all - 3,7%

[25] None of the above - 4%

[26] None of the above - 9%

[ReferenceA-1] "Kernes wins elections for Kharkiv mayor with over 65% of vote". Interfax-Ukraine. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2023-12-11.

[2] Wilson, Andrew (29 October 2015). "Five lessons from the local elections in Ukraine". European Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2023-12-11.

[cvk-3] Вибори депутатів Верховної Ради Автономної Республіки Крим, обласних, районних, міських, районних у містах, сільських, селищних рад, сільських, селищних, міських голів 25 жовтня 2020 року Archived 2020-07-17 at the Wayback Machine / Календарний план основних організаційних заходів з підготовки та проведення місцевих виборів 25 жовтня 2020 року Archived 2020-09-07 at the Wayback Machine // Central Electoral Commission

[:0-4] Баркар, Дмитро (2020-08-06). "Місцеві вибори за новими правилами: як правильно проголосувати?". Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-10-29.

[5] "Кернес Геннадий" [Short bio of Hennadiy Kernes]. LIGA. Retrieved 2023-04-20.

[6] "Украина - Кернес Геннадий Адольфович - официальная биография мэра Харькова". DailyUA.

[246371_Keys_Kernes-7] (in Ukrainian) Keys to cities. What is the secret of longevity of mayors, The Ukrainian Week (10 August 2020)

[8] "Biography of Hennadiy Kernes" Archived 2020-12-18 at the Wayback Machine Official Hennadiy Kernes' Webcite

[9] "Mayor of Ukraine's 2nd-biggest city shot in the back", New York Post, 28 April 2014; accessed 28 August 2014.

[10] (in Ukrainian) Cases against Kernes stopped, Ukrayinska Pravda (30 July 2014)
The State Office of Public Prosecutor stopped a legal investigation against Kernes from - for diseases, Преступности.НЕТ (30 July 2014)

[11] "Ukraine crisis: US and EU to intensify Russia sanctions". BBC. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
Ukraine mayor in critical condition after he was shot in the back, Los Angeles Times (28 April 2014)

[12] ""Відродження" відправить у мери Харкова Кернеса, а за крісло мера Одеси буде боротися Фабрикант" ["Revival" will send the mayor of Kharkiv Kernes, and the seat of mayor of Odesa will fight Fabricant]. www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-04-20.

[13] "Новинський і ще 5 "опоблоківців" проходять у Раду, а Колесніков – ні". Українська правда.

[14] white collar hundred. "Відкритий реєстр юридичних осіб, без капчі та реєстрації". Відкритий реєстр юридичних осіб. Retrieved 2020-09-21.

[15] "Кернес открывает второй фронт: зарегистрирован новый блок без "доверяй делам"". Kharkiv today (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-09-21.

[16] "Форбс" оценил сотню самых богатых украинцев в 55 млрд. долларов (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-11-10.

[17] "Фельдман Александр. ДОСЬЕ :: Персональный сайт Сергея Руденко". www.rudenko.kiev.ua. Retrieved 2017-11-10.

[18] Daniel K. Eisenbud (March 10, 2014). "Ukrainian Jewish Committee: Russian claims of anti-Semitism in Crimea are lies, propaganda". Jerusalem Post.

[19] (in Russian)/(website has automatic Google Translate option) Short bio, LIGA

[11205821KharkivOK-20] (in Ukrainian) Kharkiv, the votes in the mayoral election were counted: who wins and whether there will be a second round, UNIAN (4 November 2020)

[21] "Кучер Олексій Володимирович". dovidka.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved November 11, 2019.

[22] "Some 254 MPs enter Rada from Servant of the People, 124 MPs from other parties, 46 MPs self-appointed". Interfax-Ukraine. July 26, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.

[23] "Decree of the President of Ukraine № 806/2019". Office of the President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved November 11, 2019.

[:1-27] "Центральна виборча комісія України - WWW відображення ІАС "Місцеві вибори 2020". 2022-02-25. Archived from the original on 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2023-12-27.

[28] Kharkiv City Council denies reports on mayor's COVID-19 coma, UNIAN (15 September 2020)

[29] (in Ukrainian) Kernes had kidney failure, Ukrayinska Pravda (11 December 2020)

[30] Kharkiv mayor Kernes dies, Ukrinform (16 December 2020)
Помер Геннадій Кернес: мер Харкова, який виграв вибори з реанімації, BBC Ukrainian (17 December 2020) (in Ukrainian)

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2020 Kharkiv local elections

Electoral system

Mayoral candidates

Opinion polls

City Council election

Mayoral election

Results

City Council

Mayor

Aftermath

Notes

References

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