Before his inauguration, Volodymyr Zelensky made 34 promises, fulfilled 8, and failed 6. The rest are still in the process of being implemented, writes Word and Deed.
March 31 will mark two years since the first round of the presidential election, which saw Volodymyr Zelenskyy emerge victorious. Today, to take stock of Zelenskyy's presidency, we decided to analyze one of the most interesting sets of his promises—his campaign rhetoric and the promises he made before his inauguration. Back then, as a political novice and still uninitiated in the intricacies of public administration, Zelenskyy made many statements that he thought were sound, yet difficult to fulfill.
In total, between January 1 and May 19, 2019, Zelenskyy made 34 promises, most of which he announced in April and May. Of these, he fulfilled eight commitments, failed to fulfill six, and 20 remain in various stages of implementation.
Before his inauguration, Volodymyr Zelensky made 34 promises, fulfilled 8, and failed to fulfill 6. The rest are still in the process of being fulfilled.
Exiting the business
On April 18, during the talk show "Right to Power," Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced his decision to leave his own business and emphasized that he "won't leave it for five years, like someone leaving a factory," a clear reference to Petro Poroshenko and his perpetual promise to sell Roshen.
Zelensky kept his word: in May 2019, he ceased his entrepreneurial activity and began receiving his salary exclusively from the State Administration of Affairs.
Leaving Kvartal 95
Moreover, Zelensky promised to no longer appear on the Kvartal 95 studio show. But in the first months of his presidency, Zelensky couldn't resist the temptation: he appeared on the stage of the "League of Laughter" program, in an episode of "Evening Kvartal," and performed in a "Kvartal" parody at the YES forum.
Sale of presidential jets
Zelenskyy also gave a lengthy interview in which he promised to sell some of the presidential planes and not block roads with his motorcade. The first promise has not yet been fulfilled – the country's top officials still have five planes at their disposal. Regarding the second promise, the State Security Service stated that they did not block traffic during the presidential motorcade's journey. But our final verdict – whether it has been fulfilled or not – will be at the end of his term.
First press conference
Zelenskyy promised to hold his first press conference as president no later than eighteen months later. In October 2019, a 14-hour press marathon with the head of state took place. So, the promise has been fulfilled.
Remain in the country after the end of the term
During the same "Right to Power" broadcast, Zelenskyy promised that he wouldn't flee the country after his presidential term ended: "I won't be running away in five years. Because I want to be the president of a worthy country. I want to be the kind of person who won't be overtaken after five years, God willing, of normal governance, respect, and a team. I don't want someone to catch up with me on the street and say, 'You're just like Porokh.'" We'll see what happens to this promise in three years, if Zelenskyy decides not to run for a second term.
Voluntary resignation in case of violation of the law
Before becoming president, Zelenskyy repeatedly stated that he would not hold on to his position and even outlined the conditions for his possible resignation. Specifically, he promised to resign if he ever broke the law.
Verifying this promise is quite difficult. On the one hand, in his first few days in office, Zelenskyy made decisions that the public considers contradictory in terms of legality:
The appointment of Andriy Bohdan as head of the Administration is a matter of legal conflict, where the provisions of the law on the cleansing of power contradict the provisions of the law on civil service.
- dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada of the XIII convocation;
- appointment of the Chief of the General Staff without the submission of the Minister of Defense;
- appointment of the deputy chairman of the SBU without the submission of the head of the SBU.
But, on the other hand, none of these violations have been proven in court.
Zelenskyy's decree rescinding Volodymyr Horkovenko's appointment as a member of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting was unlawful. The Supreme Court ruled the president's decision unlawful. However, it must be said, this is insufficient grounds for resignation.
The president's battle against the Constitutional Court is still ongoing. Zelenskyy issued a decree rescinding Viktor Yanukovych's order appointing Oleksandr Tupytskyi as head of the Constitutional Court. A constitutional law expert believes that such a decision could lead to dual power within the Constitutional Court or a constitutional crisis in the country. But this is only a preliminary assessment.
A petition had already appeared on the OPU website demanding Zelenskyy resign for failing to fulfill this promise. The president responded: "My promise to leave the post of President of Ukraine in the event of a deliberate violation of the law was taken from the context of a discussion about the unacceptability of corruption in government, and my position on this matter remains unchanged."
Given the ambiguity of this promise, we are leaving it in the process of being fulfilled for now and continue to study the materials.
Zelensky cited his entourage's involvement in corruption schemes in the defense industry as another reason for his early resignation. There is currently no evidence to suggest that anyone on the president's team is involved.
Furthermore, Zelenskyy himself promised not to participate in corruption schemes. And if anyone in his circle engages in illegal activities, they will be imprisoned.
"New people" in power
After the second round of elections, the future president assured that his first personnel decisions would be the appointment of "new people." This promise was dashed the very next day after his inauguration.
Zelenskyy has appointed Andriy Bohdan as head of the Presidential Administration. Bohdan previously served as Deputy Minister of Justice in Tymoshenko's government and as Deputy Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers in Azarov's government. One of Bohdan's deputies is Ruslan Ryaboshapka, also not a newcomer to the government, having previously served as Deputy Minister of Justice under Yatsenyuk.
Zelenskyy specifically promised not to appoint relatives, friends, or people without professional qualifications. "We will have no nepotism," he emphasized. But Zelenskyy failed to fulfill this promise, too.
In his first months in office, Zelenskyy appointed several former Kvartal members to the Office of the President, including Serhiy Shefir and Serhiy Trofimov. Ivan Bakanov, considered a friend of the president, was appointed head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Then, in February 2020, Zelenskyy appointed Andriy Yermak, also known as the president's "old friend," as head of the Office of the President. More recently, the head of the Office of the President has been a person authorized to perform state or local government functions.
Decree on "real democracy"
In his first decree, Zelenskyy pledged to approve an action plan to implement "true democracy" in Ukraine. But the promise didn't match reality: the president's first act was to sign a decree assuming the powers of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Investigations into the actions of the previous government
Between the first and second rounds of the election, Zelenskyy announced he would initiate law enforcement investigations into the actions of the previous government: "If they are guilty, then definitely. There are the Svinarchuks and others who robbed our army, making money off the blood of their fellow soldiers."
As of the end of 2019, the State Bureau of Investigation was conducting pre-trial investigations into 13 criminal cases involving the fifth president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.
In addition, the Prosecutor General's Office opened three criminal cases on the fact of the theft of budget funds by former high-ranking officials, together with officials of defense industry enterprises, during the fulfillment of state defense orders.
The promise has been fulfilled – there are investigations, but there are no charges in the cases.
Coalition in the Rada
Zelenskyy also refused to form a coalition with the former ruling party—the former Party of Regions and Poroshenko—in the Verkhovna Rada after its inauguration. As a result, as he promised, Servant of the People is operating as a mono-coalition. Rumors have recently circulated about a possible merger between the pro-presidential faction and another political force, with Holos and Batkivshchyna among the contenders.
Maintaining the Normandy and Minsk formats of negotiations
Before taking office, Zelenskyy promised to preserve the Normandy and Minsk formats of negotiations. He fulfilled both promises.
On July 12, 2019, foreign policy advisers to the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia met in Paris to re-establish the Normandy format. In December 2019, the heads of state met: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, and Emmanuel Macron. One of their agreements was a prisoner exchange.
Currently, work in the Normandy format is only taking place at the advisory level.
The Minsk format also remains in place. In June 2019, Zelenskyy reinstated Leonid Kuchma in the Trilateral Contact Group. A TCG meeting was held in Minsk at that time. Leonid Kravchuk now leads the Ukrainian delegation in Kuchma's place.
The return of Ukrainian sailors
Zelenskyy fulfilled his promise to do everything possible to return the Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia in the Kerch Strait.
On September 7, 2019, a prisoner exchange took place between Ukraine and Russia. Thirty-five Ukrainians returned home, including 24 sailors.
Return of all prisoners of war
Moreover, before the election, Zelenskyy promised to return all prisoners of war: "Our National Guard, our pilots, our sailors, our prisoners. We remember each and every one of them, and we will definitely return them all." This promise is being fulfilled. Unfortunately, it won't be possible to return all Ukrainians at once.
Video messages to the eastern regions
To promote a Western-oriented development, Zelenskyy promised to record daily video messages to Ukraine's eastern regions. "You understand, we've chosen a European direction, clearly. We don't want to be a Soviet state; we want to be a European one. NATO—class, security, the level of the army—everything is clear. But I want to unite the country. I'll record videos every day to Ukraine's eastern regions and tell them: look, NATO isn't a beast; it won't swallow you up. See what it is. Let people think about it, let them start reading about it, let them start studying it," he said.
However, after taking office, there were no such requests from the president, so the promise was not fulfilled.
Zelenskyy's promise to wage an "information war" to end the fighting in Donbas is also being implemented. Currently, one of the main instruments of this "war" is the television channel "Dom" (House), broadcast to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
The end of the war in Donbass
Before the election, Zelenskyy spoke extensively about the war in Donbas and assured that he would do everything to end it. Later, as president, Zelenskyy expressed confidence that he would end the war within his term.
Bringing separatists to justice
He also promised to hold separatists accountable before the election, although this is not within the president's purview. Law enforcement officials are now regularly reporting the arrest and conviction of terrorists.
Latest news: a court sentenced former LPR leader Igor Plotnitsky and two militants in absentia to life imprisonment for committing a terrorist attack – the downing of an IL-76 aircraft near Luhansk.
Maintaining PrivatBank's stability
During the elections, everyone was interested in Zelenskyy's stance on the nationalized PrivatBank (given his close ties to Kolomoisky). He promised to do everything possible to ensure PrivatBank remained a stable bank.
Specifically targeting PrivatBank, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning the Improvement of Certain Mechanisms Regulating Banking Activities." It stipulates that the bank's owners and former owners, whose interests were violated due to the financial institution's withdrawal from the market, can only receive monetary compensation. However, the bank itself cannot be returned to them.
Although the Constitutional Court has not yet issued a ruling on the constitutionality of the law, PrivatBank is operating reliably, so we can consider the promise fulfilled.
In the subject: "Betray in time..." Which of Poroshenko's people managed to survive under Zelensky
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