Rebels in east Ukraine to postpone controversial local elections

The independence-seeking insurgents in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday said they had decided to postpone the controversial local elections in Lugansk and Donetsk regions, which were meant to be held this autumn.

Representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics in the Contact Group on Ukraine's crisis Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego said in a joint statement that they had agreed to delay the vote until the next year.

The statement, published on the insurgent-run Lugansk Information Centre, said the decision was made to give time for Ukraine to provide a special status to the areas controlled by rebels, grant amnesty to detained insurgents and adopt constitutional amendments on decentralization coordinated with the self-proclaimed republics.

Reports say Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has welcomed the decision on the vote postponement, saying it paves the way to hold local elections in Lugansk and Donetsk in accordance with the Ukrainian law and under international observation.

Under the Minsk peace deal, local elections in the areas controlled by rebels were due to be held on Oct. 25 alongside the vote in other Ukrainian regions. However, Kiev has cancelled the elections in eastern part of the country, citing security concerns.

Insurgents in Donetsk and Lugansk decided to hold their own local elections Oct. 18 and Nov. 1 in a move, which Kiev described as a "threat" to a peace process in the area. Endit