A woman checks the voting booth

A woman checks the voting booth on one of polling station, in Odessa, on Thursday, October 28, 2010. The 2010 Ukraine local elections are scheduled to be held in October 2010, two years before the 2012 general elections. On July 1, 2010 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian parliament) scheduled the election (originally scheduled for May 30, 2010) of local council deputies, as well as the heads of villages, towns and cities, for Sunday, October 31, 2010. Initially parties that had been established less than a year before the election and political blocs where not permitted to compete in the election but on August 30, 2010 this restriction was abandoned by the Verkhovna Rada. Self-nomination for the post of mayor is not allowed. Half of the total number of local council deputies will be elected from the lists of political parties in a multi-mandate constituency. The other half is elected under a majority system in single-mandate constituencies. The elections will be held with closed lists The election campaign started on September 11, 2010. Photo by Vyacheslav Tenyakov / UNIAN