Yuriy Vilkul
Yuriy Vilkul | |
|---|---|
| Юрій Вілкул | |
 | |
| Acting Mayor of Kryvyi Rih Secretary of the Kryvyi Rih City Council | |
| Assumed office August 25, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Oleksandr Kotlyar (Олександр Котляр) |
| Mayor of Kryvyi Rih | |
| In office November 3, 2010 – December 17, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Yuriy Liubonenko |
| Succeeded by | Kostyantyn Pavlov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Юрій Григорович Вілкул 14 November 1949 Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, USSR |
| Nationality |  Soviet Union (1949-1991) Ukraine (1991–present) |
| Political party | CPSU Party of Regions Opposition Bloc Vilkul Bloc – Ukrainian Perspective |
| Children | 2, including Oleksandr |
| Alma mater | Kryvyi Rih National University |
| Awards | Order of Merit (Ukraine) Order of Danylo Halytsky Medal for Assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine Badge "For the Merit to the City" Honored Science and Technology Figure of Ukraine State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine |
Yuriy Vilkul (Ukrainian: Юрій Григорович Вілкул; born 14 November, 1949) is a Ukrainian politician[1], who served first as elected mayor of Kryvyi Rih from 2010 to 2020, then later again as acting mayor since 2021. He is currently a member of Vilkul Bloc – Ukrainian Perspective, which is led by his son Oleksandr Vilkul.
Political Career
[edit]Mayor of Kryvyi Rih
[edit]In the 2010 Ukrainian local elections, Vilkul won the Kryvyi Rih mayoral election, securing his first term in office.
On October 25, 2015, during the 2015 Ukrainian local elections, Vilkul defeated his opponent Yuriy Myloboh by 752 votes (0.5% margin) in the second round, out of a total 108,000 voters. In the election, Myloboh won five out of the city's seven districts. But in the city's smallest district, Inhuletskyi District, Vilkul won a disproportionately large number of votes. Several opposition parties filed an appeal due to potential election fraud, but was rejected by the courts. This led to several protests in November and December.
On December 23, 2015, the Verkhovna Rada decided to reschedule the mayoral election to address the fraud allegations.[2] This election was held on March 27, 2016, where Vilkul won 70% of the vote. However, all the ballots from the election were stolen from the city archive.[3] Vilkul was elected mayor of Kryvyi Rih for the second time.
During the 2020 Ukrainian local elections, Vilkul won 44.96% of the vote in the first round, advancing to the second round along with Dmytro Shevchyk from the Servant of the People party, who won 25.94%. However, Vilkul then withdrew his candidacy citing health concerns, and endorsed Kostyantyn Pavlov from the pro-Russian Opposition Platform — For Life party.[4] Pavlov, who only won 9.15% of the vote in the first round, then replaced Vilkul in the second round and was elected mayor of Kryvyi Rih.
Since August 25, 2021, following Pavlov's death, Vilkul has been elected as Secretary of the Kryvyi Rih City Council, while also serving as acting mayor of Kryvyi Rih.[5]
Scandals
[edit]During the 2015 Kryvyi Rih mayoral election, there was a scandal alleging Vilkul of voter bribery.[6] As a result, protests erupted against recognizing Vilkul as the legitimate winner. In this election, Vilkul only won two municipal districts while his opponent won five.
Due to widespread protests, the announcement of the election results was postponed.[7] Protests continued with more than three thousand people, as security forces tried to disperse the crowd.[8]
On March 27, 2016, in response to fraud allegations, the city reconducted the mayoral election. In early 2016, there were reports that Yuriy Vilkul began distributing "aid" of 500 hryvnias to some citizens, including those who worked at municipal enterprises, large families, and pensioners.[9]
Personal Life
[edit]Vilkul is married and have two children, a son, Oleksandr Vilkul, and a daughter. Vilkul has deposits in his bank account totaling 3.544 million hryvnias.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "На Днепропетровщине Вилкулы пропиарили организацию, связанную с фанатами «русского мира»" (in Ukrainian). Інформатор. July 13, 2020. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022.
- ^ "Рада призначила дострокові вибори в Кривому Розі на 27 березня" (in Ukrainian). Ukrainska Pravda. December 23, 2015. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015.
- ^ "Кривий Ріг: З архіву втрачено абсолютно всі виборчі документи за 2014-2016 рік – #данівиборів" (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on October 28, 2020.
- ^ "Мер Кривого Рогу Вілкул знявся з виборів". РБК-Украина (in Russian). Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
- ^ "Вілкул почав здійснювати повноваження Криворізького міського голови". РБК-Украина (in Russian). August 25, 2021. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
- ^ "«Самопоміч» оскаржить у суді протокол про обрання Вілкула — Лаврик". November 17, 2015. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
- ^ "У Кривому Розі готують Майдан через фальсифікації" (in Ukrainian). Ukrainska Pravda. November 17, 2015. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015.
- ^ "Кривий Ріг: Силовики намагалися розігнати мітинг під міськвиконкомом". November 17, 2015. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
- ^ "Юрій Вілкул вирішив перед виборами роздати жителям Кривого Рогу по 500 грн". Слово і Діло (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ "Вілкул-старший задекларував за минулий рік 2,16 млн" (in Ukrainian). Українська правда. December 14, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.