Lutsenko to remain as prosecutor general until after parliamentary vote

Yuriy Lutsenko, the prosecutor general of Ukraine,
said he will remain in his post until after the early parliamentary elections,
scheduled for July 21. “I made this decision believing that my task, together
with my colleagues in law enforcement, is to organize not only honest
presidential, but also parliamentary elections,” he told a political talk show
on May 27. “Afterwards, I will go into politics, not in the list of any party,
but to the people, with whom I will work in my vision of Ukraine’s development.”
Recall, the Ukrainian president can decide to dismiss the prosecutor general
and nominate a new candidate, for parliament’s approval.

Zenon Zawada: Lutsenko’s
announcement implies an agreement was reached with the Zelenskiy
administration, which doesn’t plan to dismiss him before the elections.
Therefore, we can expect no major prosecution activity until the autumn, which
works to Zelenskiy’s political advantage. With Lutsenko in place, Zelenskiy’s
opponents can’t begin to accuse the president of failing to launch the
anti-corruption fight or fulfill his election campaign suggestion of
prosecuting former President Poroshenko.

Lutsenko remaining also serves the interests of the
Poroshenko entourage in avoiding criminal prosecution. By the winter, Zelenskiy
could very well decide that prosecutions against the Poroshenko entourage are
no longer politically expedient, especially if he finds success on other
political fronts.

Though Lutsenko has been a leader of Ukraine’s
pro-Western forces since the 2004 maidan, and a central figure of the
EuroMaidan protests of 2013-2014, his political star has crashed since then. He
is now largely viewed as Poroshenko’s corrupt aide in suppressing political
opposition (playing a key role in Saakashvili’s deportation) and failing to
prosecute the crimes of the Yanukovych administration. We view his political
career as finished, along with Poroshenko’s (if the former president is not
elected to parliament).