With local elections being held in Ukraine, the ruling government of Petro Poroshenko appear to have retained its dominant position in the country.

Despite the growing discontent for the ruling party, the west and centre of the country appear to have kept with the ruling powers.

The south and especially east have voted in larger numbers for the Opposition Bloc to little surprise.

Ukraine is voting for 10,700 council seats and mayoral elections in Kiev and other major cities, with more than 130 parties fielding candidates. Full results are not expected until 4th November.

Not Smooth

Elections were not held in the rebel held parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but were held in areas of the east taken back from rebels by government forces.

Parts of the country failed to hold voting. In the southern port city of Mariupol, voting failed to take place because the ballot papers were to be supplied by Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, who is a supporter of the Opposition Bloc.

In the cities of Krasnoarmiisk and Svatovo in the east of the country, political conflicts led to the postponement of voting also.

The most high profile candidate is also the favourite to win the mayoral seat in Kiev despite having 28 challengers, former heavyweight champion boxer, Vitaly Klitschko.