Ukraine parliament fails to approve bill enabling Lutsenko nomination

Ukraine’s parliament failed to approve a bill amending the requirements for Ukraine’s prosecutor general at its May 10 session. The first ad hoc vote drew 223 MPs in support, three short of a majority, while the second vote of its first reading drew 224 MPs in support. The bill was amended since its registration on April 19 and the new version was registered just minutes before its scheduled vote, complained MP Serhiy Vlasenko of the Fatherland party. However, its essence remained the same, which consists of amending the law to enable Yuriy Lutsenko to become elected as prosecutor general having no law degree or experience working as a prosecutor.

The legislation was supported by a majority of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc (pro-EU/patronage-oriented) and the People’s Front (pro-EU/patronage-oriented) parties, which form the de facto parliamentary coalition. It was also supported by a majority of MPs from the People’s Will and Renaissance groups (oligarch-oriented). The measure was not supported by the Opposition Bloc (Russian-oriented), the Self-Reliance party (pro-EU/reformist), Oleh Liashko’s Radical Party (pro-EU/populist), and the Fatherland party (pro-EU/populist).

Ukrainian President Poroshenko announced after the vote that he canceled a May 11-12 working visit to London in order to hold meetings with parliamentary MPs. The visit was canceled “in relation to the situation that emerged regarding the selection of the new prosecutor general and the parliament’s failure to approve bills that are necessary to extend IMF cooperation,” the president’s press-service reported.

Zenon Zawada: Parliament moving forward on amending the prosecutor general requirements could indicate that Lutsenko’s candidacy has the behind-the-scenes acceptance of Ukraine’s Western partners. However, Lutsenko has said himself he’s not interested in becoming a “decorative prosecutor general” and doesn’t believe he can be effective, given the authority of the newly created Prosecutors Council to influence activity and personnel.

While Lutsenko is not a member of the old guard that dominates the office currently and has obstructed anti-corruption efforts (to the open dismay of the U.S. government), he also has no record of being a reformer capable of making a significant difference. We don’t expect him to lead any structural reforms and instead we expect he will do the bare minimum to meet Western demands. There’s also a 50/50 chance his candidacy won’t get the needed votes in future attempts, at least two of which will have to be made. 

Yesterday’s voting in parliament confirmed again that a firm parliamentary coalition is lacking, both on a de facto and de jure basis. Only about 80 percent of Poroshenko Bloc MPs and 89 percent of People’s Front MPs supported their respective factions in the voting. Moreover, the parliament’s web site as of this morning indicated 225 MPs are registered between the coalition’s two parties (Poroshenko Bloc and the People’s Front), one short of the minimum majority needed.