Legal status and local government of Kiev

The City of Kiev has a unique legal status compared to the other administrative subdivisions of Ukraine. The most significant difference is that the city is functionally independent of the oblast (province) which it located in. That is, Kiev is subordinated directly to the national-level branches of the Government of Ukraine, skipping the provincial level authorities of Kiev Oblast, but hosting the administrative and infrastructure bodies for the latter.

The unique standing of the city's institutions of self-governance reflects the role of Kyiv as the capital of Ukraine and is also based on the city's historical administrative status within the Soviet Union where Kiev held the position of a City of republican subordination.

The head of the local government (the Mayor of Kiev) is elected, rather than appointed, and the municipal government has greater latitude in local affairs that elsewhere in Ukraine. The President of Ukraine appoints the Head of Kiev City Administration.

Currently, the legal status and the local government of Kyiv is regulated by the special provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine as well as a combination of Ukrainian laws, namely the Law on the capital of Ukraine - Hero City Kiev, the Law on the local state administration and the Law on local self-governance in Ukraine.

Its special administrative status is recognized in the Ukrainian Constitution in and is governed in accordance with laws passed by Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.

The scope and structure of the Kiev local government and the status of the current Kiev City Council is the subject of an ongoing bitter legal and political crisis. The oppositional parties that dominate the city after the recent elections consider the City Council term of authority expired and effectively block attempts at its convening through mass protest.

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Wikipedia