ABSTRACT
This chapter characterizes the evolution of the local government system and the electoral rules in Ukraine in the period 1991–2020. It pays special attention to the 2015 local elections, which were held soon after the start of the local amalgamation reform in Ukraine. Although that national agenda dominated during the electoral campaign, the electoral outcomes only partially resembled those of the 2014 parliamentary electoral contests. There was an impressive share of self-nominated independents among the elected councilors and mayors in both the amalgamated and the non-amalgamated communities in 2015. However, the level of party politicization of local elections was slightly higher in the amalgamated than in the non-amalgamated communities.
