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Ukraine political reforms halted,alleged corrupt officials remain, critics say

Ukraine political reforms halted,alleged corrupt officials remain, critics say

24 September 2014

Political reforms in Ukraine have stopped, said on Sept. 23 Gunnar Wiegand, the European External Action Service for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia Regional Cooperation and OSCE countries. “After the presidential elections, the process stopped, partly because of the declared parliamentary elections, and also because of the situation in the security sphere,” he told a meeting of the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament, as reported by the Interfax-Ukrayina news agency. Wiegand called upon European MPs to raise the issue of the need to conduct reforms with their Ukrainian colleagues, particularly constitutional reforms and judicial system reforms, the fulfillment of which “is strongly being held up in the framework of the earlier agreed upon Association Agreement agenda.”

 

Among those competing in the Oct. 26 parliamentary elections are 78 candidates who are targets of corruption-related investigations and 55 MPs who voted for the Jan. 16 dictatorship laws, reported on Sept. 23 Chesno, an NGO that conducts political monitoring. The organization called upon political parties to remove these candidates. One of these candidates, Vladyslav Atroshenko, is even competing for the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, Chesno reported.

 

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has denied the registration of 21 candidates from the reform-oriented Volia party, reported MP Yuriy Derevianko on his Facebook page on Sept. 23. At the same time, the CEC has registered 205 Communist Party members and 127 former members of the Party of Regions, he said. The CEC said the documents submitted by the Volia party don’t adhere to requirements, which party leaders said isn’t true. In response, the Volia party filed a lawsuit in a Kyiv appellate court to overturn the CEC’s decision to deny the registration of its candidates.

 

The Procurator General of Ukraine reported on Sept. 23 that the 2011 purchase by state company Chornomornaftogaz of drilling rigs at an inflated price cost the state $25 million in damages. Among those involved were officials with Chornomornaftogaz, Naftogaz and the Energy Ministry. The investigation has yet to establish any suspects, though former vice prime minister Yuriy Boyko is a witness. Deputy Procurator General Oleksiy Bahanets said he hasn’t ruled out Boyko becoming a suspect in the investigation.

 

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appointed as his advisor on Sept. 23 Ruslan Demchenko. He served as a deputy foreign affairs minister under the administration of former President Viktor Yanukovych, during which he coordinated the efforts to justify the political repressions against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, reported the Ukrayinska Pravda news site.

 

Zenon Zawada: Indeed Ukrainians are disappointed with the utter lack of political reforms, particularly in such critical state bodies as the courts, prosecutor offices and police. The CEC has many Yanukovych administration holdovers, which explains its possible antagonism to the Volia party, which has led the lustration effort. Meanwhile, among those suspected of being at the heart of the Yanuokvych administration’s corruption, such as Boyko and former Naftogaz CEO Yevhen Bakulin, remain free. Boyko is competing for parliament and Poroshenko just appointed Demchenko as an advisor, yet another official with a dubious career to enter the top ranks of government.

 

Ukrainians have overlooked the lack of progress in reforms and corruption in light of the war in Donbas and economic trouble. However, they will expect an intense effort once the new parliament is elected and a new Cabinet emerges. Failure to make any progress will create severe political tensions by the springtime. Indeed we are starting to doubt Poroshenko’s commitment in the spheres of political reform and corruption.

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