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Kharkiv City Secretary Igor Terekhov comes to the fore in the absence of Gennady Kernes, photo: facebook.com/igor.terehov.kh
Gennady Kernes won the Kharkov mayoral election for the third time, however, in the new call of the City Council, judging by the preliminary data, he will not have his mono-majority, as before.
Its nominal bloc “Successful Kharkov” (UH), although it won the electoral race, did not take enough deputy mandates to independently carry out the decisions in the city hall.
A similar story is in the regional council.
“Strana” found out who will finally manage the city and the region after the local elections.
Kernes wins and loses
Gennady Kernes, whose fortune remains a secret behind seven stamps, became mayor of Kharkov for the third time.
On Wednesday, November 4, the Election Commission of Kharkiv City officially announced the results of the elections to the mayor of the city. Kernes obtained 60.34% (195 thousand 44 votes), which allowed him to win in the first round. In second place is the People’s Deputy Oleksandr Feldman, nominated by Oppoplatform, for whom 14.32% of Kharkiv residents voted (46278). The third is the head of the Kharkiv region, Aleksey Kucher, who ran for the Servant of the People (SN) party, which was supported by 7.24% of voters (23,401).
But the outcome of the Kernes game – “Successful Kharkov” did not please the mayor’s team. According to preliminary data from the territorial electoral commission, the UH took only 34 of the 84 council seats. Hopes of re-forming a mono-majority did not materialize.
Recall: in the old convocation, the faction of the Kernes-controlled “Vidrodzhennya” party (later renamed for the 2019 parliamentary elections in the “Opposition Bloc” Confidence in affairs “) had 57 deputy mandates, which was a case unique among the city councils of the regional centers, especially since this majority was completely controlled by Kernes.
In the new city hall, Oppoplatform will receive 19 seats, European Solidarity and SN – 9 each, Sharia Party – 7, Svetlichnaya Bloc “Together” – 6.
Terekhov in the foreground
To make decisions in the City Council, at least 43 deputies will be required. YX will need a partner to form a majority.
In the Kharkov political party, the version is spread that it will be the “Servant of the People” faction.
The secretary of the City Council, Igor Terekhov, who was re-elected by the mayor’s party for the new convocation, is conducting the “successful Kharkov” negotiations. According to rumors, he received the support of the Interior Minister, Arsen Avakov, with whom he has known for a long time. When Avakov was the head of the Kharkiv region, Terekhov was his deputy. But when Avakov lost the election for the post of mayor of Kharkiv and left Ukraine for Italy, fearing arrest, Terekhov joined Kernes’ team.
The interlocutor of the publication, surrounded by Avakov, to the question of “Strana” replied that he had not heard of the return of Terekhov to the orbit of the minister.
However, regardless of this, it is most likely that Governor Kucher will lose his post, because Avakov (whom he was once close to, but later reoriented to surround Zelensky) and Kernes (with whom he broke the pots and aggravated the situation during the election campaign by releasing a video parody of the famous Dobkin and Kernes video).
Kharkiv political scientist Anton Aksentyev says an alliance will most likely form between Kernes’s party and the People’s Servants.
“The option with HLE is unlikely. Personal relationships between Successful Kharkiv beneficiaries and the local Oppoplatform cell are bad. During the election campaign, the city authorities did not let any HLE posters hang in the city, perceiving them as enemies “, says the expert.
In the context of Kernes disease, the City Clerk’s question is logical. “The most expected thing is that Terekhov will remain in this chair. Even if Kernes returns and takes the mayor’s oath, he will still be treated, and the secretary, that is, Terekhov, will be in charge,” says political analyst Aksentyev.
Terekhov, by the way, promised in his interview with “Strana” that the first session of the City Council, in which the newly elected mayor must take the oath and elect the direction of the meeting, will take place “before December 20.” He did not begin to say what would happen if Kernes could not return to Kharkov at this time and begin his duties. He said that they do not take that option.
But if this happens, then the electoral commission will have to announce new elections for the mayor, and until then, the secretary of the city council will act as his.
As for possible replacements for Kucher, several figures are named among them.
First of all, this is the head of the apparatus of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Aina Tymchuk, who once worked for Kernes, and Tatiana Egorova-Lutsenko, the first deputy of Kucher. She is considered the person of the curator of the region’s “servants of the people”, Vadim Slyusarev.
On Friday, November 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky will pass through Kharkiv. According to a source from the presidential office, there will be no long stops in the city. Perhaps after that the fate of the head of the region will be clarified.
Regional council for two
Possible alignments in the regional council are also actively debated.
Also, a version of creating a majority without the Kernes party is discussed here. “One potential setup is to gather a majority in the Town Hall in the Town Hall as a counterweight to the ‘successful Kharkiv’, which consists of SN, OPSZ and Svetlichnaya Bloc. The Presidium will split between them.
At the same time, a Strana source on the president’s team called these conversations “fiction.”
“There is a general directive not to enter into a coalition anywhere with Oppoplatform and not to allow local elites to have alliances with it. Therefore, there will be no coalition with the Opposition Platform. There will be a coalition of Servants of the People with the party Kernes. Both in the regional council and in the city hall. “- says the source.
They deny the possibility of a coalition with the “servants of the people” and the sources of “Strana” in the HLS.
At the same time, Kernes’ associates, according to political scientist Avksentiev, hope to obtain the presidency of the head of the regional council. “The current head of the meeting, Sergei Chernov (the third number on the UX list – Ed.) wants to stay. Another representative of Kernes’ party, Stepan Maselsky, is called a candidate for the presidency, “says the expert.
First, of course, the regional electoral commission must announce the official results of the elections in the region. According to provisional data, of 50 territorial electoral commissions (56 in total), the UH obtained 28.7% of the votes, the OLP – 23.7%, the Svetlichnaya Bloc – 16.7%, the SN – 16.1 %. Close to pass the EU – 4.8%.
