The snap parliamentary elections, launched by the authorities under what was effectively a wartime backdrop, have escalated the electoral race. Former and current prosecutors have not remained uninvolved. Those who until recently were supposed to uphold the rule of law now hope to soon be writing those very same laws. Taking their own interests into account, of course.
Piskun intends to step into the same river three times
Topping the "Prosecutor's Truth" rating list is three-time Prosecutor General's Office head Svyatoslav Piskun, who intends to try his luck as a deputy once again. It's worth noting that back in 2006, Piskun first entered parliament on the Party of Regions list. In the 2012 elections, he ran as a single-member candidate in a constituency in his native Zhytomyr Oblast.
During the current election campaign, Piskun wormed his way into the ranks of the "Strong Ukraine" party, resurrected by former Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tihipko. He was given the 16th spot on the electoral list. Frankly, the former Prosecutor General's chances of stepping into the same river three times are slim. Considering Tihipko's traditional electorate resides in the eastern regions of the country, where major cities are currently under the control of the so-called "DPR" and "LPR," his hopes of securing enough votes to enter parliament are slim.
Moreover, he created new problems for the former Prosecutor General and the Central Election Commission, which could even disqualify Mr. Piskun from the election. The alleged reason is his non-residence in Ukraine in recent years, as the former Prosecutor General was in France in 2012-2013 and only returned to Ukraine this spring.
Incidentally, even during this short period, the MP has already managed to make his mark in parliament, thus demonstrating that he hasn't been slacking off in the Verkhovna Rada's cozy chair. Specifically, he submitted a bill to reinstate military tribunals. He argued that the country is at war, committing countless crimes related to it, and that courts of general jurisdiction can't always ensure their full consideration. However, it's unclear how tribunals can function in a country where martial law hasn't been officially declared, even in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine. For Piskun, something else is more important: he's made a name for himself in the country's media landscape, and his long-forgotten persona has once again become a talking point. And all this on the eve of the elections. What better PR than that?!
It's the same old story: both former and current prosecutors lined up to get a deputy's ID card.
Another former prosecutor, Ivan Zhylka, the former head of the Kirovohrad Regional Prosecutor's Office, is running as an independent candidate in the 103rd electoral district, centered in Oleksandriya. Zhylka served as the Kirovohrad Regional Prosecutor from December 20, 1996, to July 5, 1999. His current position is as an associate professor at the Academy of the Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine. Apparently, having worked his ass off as a professor, the former prosecutor has decided to forge a different path for himself – straight to the dome of the Verkhovna Rada.
In addition to former prosecutors, current prosecutors are also running, and some are quite high-ranking. For example, the Central Election Commission recently officially registered Kherson City Prosecutor Viktor Chaus as a candidate for People's Deputy.
Chaus intends to compete for votes in the 59th electoral district of the Donetsk region. The Kherson prosecutor, who miraculously remained in office after the change of power in the country in February of this year, is entering politics for the first time. Moreover, he will run not as a member of any political party, but as an independent candidate. Perhaps the prosecutor has awakened unprecedented political ambitions, or perhaps the prospect of falling under the lustration law is looming. Meanwhile, Chaus has been in his position since 2010, and before that, he served as the prosecutor of the Nikitovsky district of Horlivka in the Donetsk region. And if he wins a seat in the Verkhovna Rada, his parliamentary credentials will protect him from many of the problems associated with the recent adoption of the notorious "Law on the Purification of Power" for all prosecutors.
Another candidate for parliament is Petro Lishchinin, a senior prosecutor in the Main Directorate for Supervision of Compliance with Laws in Criminal Proceedings and former deputy prosecutor of the Odessa region.
This guardian of law and order is registered as a majoritarian candidate for people's deputy from electoral district No. 142 in the city of Artsyz, Odessa Oblast. Notably, Lishchinin became known to the general public after a scandal broke regarding the prosecutor's acquisition of luxury real estate on Odessa's French Boulevard. However, another episode that made Lishchinin famous was his stay at the "White Acacia" sanatorium. The prosecutor paid significantly less for the stay than the actual cost, thereby causing losses to the sanatorium.
According to unconfirmed reports, Zaporizhia Oblast Prosecutor Oleksandr Shatskyi has also filed for election to the Verkhovna Rada. However, the regional prosecutor's office press service noted that the prosecutor "will remain in his position for now," while emphasizing that "no advance notice" is given to those running for election at the Zaporizhia Regional Prosecutor's Office. Interestingly, back in July, local activists demanded the regional prosecutor's resignation, accusing him of failing to hold those responsible for the dispersal of the local Euromaidan protests on January 26th accountable in Zaporizhia. The official heeded the people's request in his own way, declaring that he is always ready to step down if the region's residents demand it. He called the rally outside the regional prosecutor's office nothing more than a "provocation."
Why do they need this? For themselves!
When discussing the motives behind prosecutors' campaigns for parliamentary mandates, it is important to keep in mind several simple things.
Firstly, as we have already mentioned, the "crust" of a people's deputy can protect the department's employees from possible persecution by the authorities; the only exception here might be Ivan Zhilka, who held this position "under Tsar Pea."
Let's just remember the story of the odious former deputy prosecutor general Rinat Kuzmin (Read more about it in the article Renat Kuzmin: The Family Business of Outlaw Prosecutors), who decided to "run for president" despite facing two open criminal cases related to the arrest and detention of Yuriy Lutsenko. With his purely technical participation in the election race, Viktor Pshonka's former right-hand man ensured that virtually nothing is heard about the investigation into the case against him.
Incidentally, if they so desired, the current lustrators would naturally find "sins" in the activities of Chaus and Lishchishin. Especially since in the latter's case, they are, as they say, obvious. However, the participation of prosecutors in the election campaign significantly complicates such efforts, as they could then loudly declare that they are being persecuted for political reasons.
Secondly, if prosecutors manage to seize the opportunity and enter parliament, they will have the opportunity to engage in lawmaking. However, this activity will largely consist of drafting laws in a "stick it where you want it" manner. This means there will be plenty of loopholes, particularly regarding financial and tax policy, which is what representatives of large industrial groups, for example, are eagerly awaiting. Thus, domestic oligarchs will have their own parliamentary lobby in prosecutorial uniform.
The third aspect concerns the candidates' political ambitions. However, only Svyatoslav Piskun can seriously talk about receiving political dividends. For the other prosecutors, the very fact of getting into the Verkhovna Rada would be a huge success.
Given the desire of a number of prosecutors to enter politics, Prosecutor's Truth has a number of questions for the GPU leadership:
— How does the department assess the nomination of a number of current prosecutorial officials as candidates for people's deputies?
— Did the GPU leadership give the go-ahead for the agency’s employees to participate in the elections?
— What is the real reason why many prosecutors have developed a desire to go into politics?
Prosecutor's Truth
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