Ukraine

Government organization

Ukraine is a unitary republic with three spheres of government: central, intermediate (the Autonomous Republic of Crimea), and local.

Central government

Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
Head of Government: The Prime Minister is submitted by the President to be appointed by the Parliament.
Legislative body: The Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters.
Executive body: The Cabinet of Ministers is composed of the Prime Minister, the First Vice Prime Minister, the vice prime ministers, and the ministers. The Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs are appointed by the Parliament upon the submission by the President of Ukraine; the other ministers are appointed by the Parliament upon the submission by the Prime Minister.

Autonomous Republic of Crimea

Legislative body: The Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) of Crimea is the unicameral legislature of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, whose members are directly elected by voters.
Executive body: The Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, led by the Prime Minister of Crimea, constitutes the executive branch of the government of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The Head of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the Parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, upon the consent of the President of Ukraine.

Local government

Organization: Local government is organized into three tiers: an upper tier of the City of Kiev, the City of Sevastopol, and 25 regional-level local government units, an intermediate tier of 136 cities of regional significance and district-level local government units, and a lower tier of 29713 locality-level local government units (including villages, towns, and rural settlements).
Competencies: Local government is responsible for adopting or approving local budgets, levying taxes, managing its own assets, and issuing regulations on matters of local significance.
Ministerial oversight: The Directorate for the Development of Local Self-Government, Territorial Organization of Government and Administrative-Territorial Organization within the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine is responsible for central government oversight on local government.

Overview of local government

Local government composition

City of Kiev government (Київ)

Deliberative body: The Kiev City Council (Київська міська рада) is composed of the city head and 120 elected deputies.

Executive body: The Kiev City State Administration (Київська міська адміністрація) is composed of the appointed chairperson, deputy chairpersons, and additional appointed members.

City of Sevastopol (Севастополь)

Deliberative body: The Sevastopol City Council (Севастопольська міська рада) is composed of 76 elected deputies.

Executive body: The Sevastopol City State Administration, led by the Sevastopol City State Administration head (голова Севастопольської міськдержадміністрації) is the executive body of government for the City of Sevastopol.

Regional-level government (область)

Deliberative body: The regional council (обласна рада) is composed of the chairperson and 12-150 elected deputies. The chairperson is elected by and from the regional council to preside over it; the chairperson is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The regional administration is composed of the council chairperson and additional appointed members.

Cities of Regional Significance government (Місто обласного значення)

Deliberative body: The city council (муніципальна рада) is composed of the mayor and 12-150 elected deputies. The mayor presides over the city council; the mayor is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The city administration is composed of the mayor and additional appointed members.

District-level government (Райони у містах України)

Deliberative body: The district council is composed of the chairperson and 12-150 elected deputies. The chairperson is elected by and from the district council to preside over it; the chairperson is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The district administration is composed of the chairperson and additional appointed members.

Locality-level government (село/ селище/ селищна)

Deliberative body: Each local council (сільська́ ра́́да/ селищна рада) is composed of the local head and 12-150 elected deputies. The local head presides over the council; the local head is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The local head is the executive of the district level of government.

Local government elections

Electoral system

Electoral system for local deliberative bodies: proportional representation (open-list) in regions, districts, cities, and large localities; majority/plurality (block vote or majority) in small localities.

For local government areas with a population of 10,000 or more inhabitants, a proportional electoral system with multi-member constituencies and a 5% threshold is used. For local government areas with a population of less than 10,000 inhabitants, a majority electoral system with single member constituencies is used.

Electoral system for mayors and local heads: majority/plurality (two-round system)

Mayors and local heads are directly elected by voters using a two-round majority vote on a separate ballot than local deliberative body elections.

Source: Electoral Code, 2019 (amended through 2021), article 192

Quotas

Gender quotas: Legislated candidate quotas, ranking/placement

For localities of under 10,000 voters, representation of persons of the same sex in the electoral lists of candidates for deputies of local councils in multi-member constituencies must be at least 30 percent of the total number of candidates on the electoral list.
For localities of over 10,000 voters; regions, cities and districts, party lists should ensure a presence in every five consecutive candidates (places from the first to the fifth, from the sixth to the tenth and so on) of at least two candidates of each sex.

Additional quotas: No

Source: Electoral Code, 2019 (amended through 2021), articles 219 and 220

Term of elections

Term length: 5 years
Last local elections: 2020
Next local elections: 2025

Electoral management body

Central Election Commission of Ukraine

National legal framework on local government

National legal framework

Constitution of Ukraine, 1996 (amended through 2019);
Electoral Code, 2019 (amended through 2021);
Law on Voluntary Association of Territorial Communities, 2015 (amended through 2020);
Law on Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men, 2006 (amended through 2017);
Law on the Capital of Ukraine, 1999 (amended through 2020);
Law on Local Self-Government, 1997 (amended through 2021).

Constitutional provisions on local government

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in Ukraine. According to Articles 7, 132, and 140 of the Constitution of 1996 (amended through 2019), “in Ukraine, local self-government is recognised and guaranteed. The territorial structure of Ukraine is based on the principles of unity and indivisibility of the state territory, the combination of centralisation and decentralisation in the exercise of state power, and the balanced social and economic development of regions with account of their historical, economic, ecological, geographical and demographic characteristics, and ethnic and cultural traditions. Local self-government is the right of a territorial community — residents of a village or a voluntary association of residents of several villages into one village community, residents of a settlement, and of a city — to independently resolve issues of local character within the limits of the Constitution and the laws of Ukraine.”

Legislative provisions on local government

Parliament is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key piece of legislation which regulates local government is the Law on Local Self-Government of 1997 (amended through 2021), which guarantees and defines the local government system and the legal status and responsibility of local government bodies in Ukraine.

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2022.

Any feedback? Tell us!

Local government country profile

Local government country profile

Government organization

Overview of local government