In Mariupol the ballots were not ready in the polling station in time and officials in Krasnoarmiysk claimed an electoral violation had scuppered plans.
Elsewhere Ukrainians turned out to vote: “Poroshenko promised a wider power and rights for local authorities. Maybe it will be true. I’ve lived a long life and have voted many times, but now I have an impression that nothing depends on people. Unfortunately money is the only thing that decides everything in this country,” said one disillusioned voter.
The Solidarity party of president Petro Poroshenko said mayoral and regional elections will be held in both areas in mid-November.
Mariupol is a key transport hub and outlet for the east’s industrial output and the site of repeated pro-Russian rebel attacks.
In January a mortar assault killed 31 and injured 100.
The vote goes ahead during a lull in the fighting and as Ukraine is announced a Europe’s second poorest country.
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