diff --git a/project.py b/project.py
index dec21ab..6631641 100644
--- a/project.py
+++ b/project.py
@@ -1165,7 +1165,7 @@
     last_mine = None
     cnt_mine = 0
     for commit in local_changes:
-      commit_id, committer_email = commit.split(' ', 1)
+      commit_id, committer_email = commit.decode('utf-8').split(' ', 1)
       if committer_email == self.UserEmail:
         last_mine = commit_id
         cnt_mine += 1