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ProPozystiya, that will unite several incumbents seeking re-election, including the mayors of Mykolayiv, Chernivtsi, Zhytomyr and Kropyvnytskiy.
Local budgets during the quarantine and economic crisis have prompted the creation of “a truly powerful professional force of people who understand concrete problems in their positions, know how to resolve them and have political levers of influence to press and defend the rights of citizens to self-governance,” a spokeswoman said at the June 19 presentation.
“Several things are already foreseeable about the October local elections.
(1) The four leading parties will dominate the voting for councils, though People’s Servant is at greatest risk of losing support by then.
(2) The competition will be fierce between the parties, especially with the land market to be launched.
(3) The mayors of Ukraine’s largest cities – Klitschko in Kyiv, Kernes in Kharkiv, Trukhanov in Odesa and Filatov in Dnipro – will likely be re-elected.
(4) Many other mayors will be re-elected, particularly those with the ProPozytsiya party, withstanding challenges from People’s Servant candidates,” Zenon Zawada of Concorde Capital said in a note.
2.8​ ​Ukraine’s business environment deteriorates
Ukraine’s ranking on the European Business Association’s Investment Attractiveness Index fell in the first half of 2020 to a negative score of 2.51 out of 5.0 from 2.95 in the prior period, according to a survey conducted by the EBA and the Vasyl Kisil and Partners law firm.
Only 4% of the surveyed CEOs view the business climate as favourable, compared to 17% in the prior period. About 62% view it as unfavourable, while 34% are neutral. When asked about the dynamics of Ukraine’s business climate, 55% said it has worsened from the prior six months, 35% saw no changes and 10% said it has improved. That’s despite identified accomplishments such as the launch of the farmland market, the floating currency, the new IMF loan program, a cut in the discount rate and the stable hryvnia.
Besides the traditional negative factors, such as a weak judicial system, the absence of progress in combatting corruption and the large role of the shadow economy, respondents cited new ones, namely restrictions related to COVID-19, political and economic instability caused by rotating officials, higher tax pressure and changes to the tax code and reforms being halted.
Only 15% of CEOs expect an improvement in the investment climate in the next six months. In the second half of 2019, 41% of CEOs expressed optimistic expectations, 44% expected no changes, while 41% were concerned about worsening conditions.
"This survey indicates Ukraine’s CEOs are not impressed with the Zelenskiy administration, which claimed that improving the investment climate would be among its top priorities," Zenon Zawada, an analyst at the Kyiv-based
13​ UKRAINE Country Report​ July 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com