The postponement of the second round of elections would leave cities without a legitimate government and lead current local authorities in limbo, the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) said, commenting on the initiative of the Servant of the People party to adopt a resolution to postpone the second round of elections.

"The Committee of Voters of Ukraine says that the issue of holding elections should not be accompanied by political speculation. Earlier, government officials have repeatedly voiced ideas about a possible postponement of local elections and statements that can be regarded as attempts to political pressure on the activities of local governments (in particular, regarding legislative attempts to restrict the powers of Kyiv mayor)," the committee said in a statement released on its Facebook page.

The Committee of Voters believes that the initiative to postpone the second round of elections until the end of lockdown is contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine and violates the electoral rights of citizens.

"According to the Constitution of Ukraine, postponement of elections, including the second round of voting, is possible only under conditions of introduction of martial law or a state of emergency. According to Article 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine, in conditions of martial law or a state of emergency, some restrictions on rights and freedoms may be established, indicating the duration of these restrictions," the committee said in the statement.

The CVU called on Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov to take urgent measures to publish the text of the draft resolution and appealed to the leadership of the Servant of the People faction with a demand to clarify the position of the political force on the initiative of the MP from the Servant of the People party to postpone the second round of elections.

As reported, MP from the Servant of the People faction Tetiana Hryschenko registered a draft resolution of the Verkhovna Rada, in which she proposes to cancel the second vote in local elections, explaining this by coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.