Ukraine parliament dismisses highly criticized prosecutor general

Ukraine’s parliament voted on March 29 to dismiss Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Shokin after a half-year of pressure from the pro-Western opposition and behind the scenes lobbying by the U.S. The 289 votes in favor of his dismissal were supported by the pro-Western forces, including Petro Poroshenko Bloc and People’s Front led by PM Yatsenyuk. U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt said he welcomed the dismissal, referring to Shokin as “discredited,” and called for his replacement to be independent and professional.

Shokin is the second prosecutor general appointed by Poroshenko who was pressured to leave because of alleged corruption. When addressing parliament, several MPs called for reforms to prevent this scenario from repeating a third time. Leonid Yemets of the People’s Front called for an open selection process, Ihor Lutsenko of the Fatherland party called for constitutional changes and open selection while Mustafa Nayem of the Poroshenko Bloc said the EuroOptimists group of MPs supports the candidacy of Serhiy Horbatiuk, the prosecutor responsible for investigating the crimes of the EuroMaidan.  

Hours before the dismissal vote, Shokin signed a decree dismissing David Sakvarelidze, a deputy prosecutor general who has been lauded by the U.S. government in his attempts to combat corruption, most notably in investigating the case of the “diamond prosecutors.” The decree cited “gross violations of prosecutorial ethics,” among other offenses. In a meeting with the president the same day, Poroshenko said he will discuss with the new prosecutor general the possibility of him returning to his position, Sakvarelidze said in an interview with the nv.ua news site. Also on the day of the dismissal, one of Sakvarelidze’s prosecutorial appointments in Odesa was arrested for allegedly receiving a bribe of USD 5,000.

Zenon Zawada: Poroshenko didn’t get his new parliamentary coalition to bring to Washington for his working visit today, but he did get Shokin’s dismissal, which slightly replenishes his depleted political capital. There is nothing greater – not even a new coalition – that will set the tone for the next lap of his presidency than the selection of the next prosecutor general. We expect a heated battle since the president has shown his resistance to reforms demanded by the West. Yet this time around, the pro-Western opposition won’t settle for another representative of the old guard and can make this a key political issue for the nation. Horbatiuk seems to be a good compromise candidate given his years of experience in the Prosecutor General’s Office, as well as his reported commitment to fully investigating the EuroMaidan murders.

Whether Sakvarelidze returns will also be indicative of the direction that the prosecutor general’s office will take. A scenario could emerge of a popular candidate becoming prosecutor general, yet he could be surrounded by veterans who will undermine his reform attempts, as has been the case with numerous key governing bodies. Sakvarelidze’s presence would ensure that there’s a team in place to at least resist the old guard and provide support for corruption investigations. So the battle between the old guard and reformers is only beginning.