President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky demanded that members of the Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy of the Verkhovna Rada pass a lie detector test. He addressed the same demand to deputy Vyacheslav Medianik. Zelensky, who is visiting Japan, wrote about this on his Facebook.

“All members of the Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy must pass a lie detector test. If this check will establish even in the slightest degree the likelihood that one of the deputies took money for voting on the committee, these deputies should deal with law enforcement agencies. An honest and impartial investigation should remove all questions and give answers, no matter how bitter they may be. I consider it necessary to arrange the same thing with respect to the deputy, who conducted questionable correspondence about the “resolution of issues”. And if the suspicions are justified, we will say goodbye to such deputies, ”Zelensky wrote.

Earlier, 11 deputies of the Servant of the People pro-presidential fraction included in the Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Committee refused to support anti-corruption bill No. 2047-d (“On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine regarding the Elimination of the Corruption Scheme in the Field of Registration of Information from Object Assessment Reports real estate "). As a result, the document was not adopted by the committee.

The bill abolished paid electronic sites introduced last year, through which information is provided on assessing the value of real estate. The well-known Ukrainian journalist Sonya Koshkina in her Telegram channel reported that, according to her, the deputies voted against because they had received a bribe of $ 30 thousand each. Her words were reprinted by Ukrainian News Agency.

On October 15, the journalists of the Strana.ua publication photographed the correspondence in the messenger, which was conducted during the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada by the deputy from the “Servant of the People” Vyacheslav Medyanik. In the messages, he promised businessman Alexander Yarovy to turn to the prosecutor general’s office and resolve through it certain issues related to his interlocutor. However, Medianik denies having provided illegal lobbying services.

Unconstitutional decision

On Wednesday, a specialized anti-corruption prosecutor’s office (CAP) said it had registered criminal proceedings for possible corruption crimes by deputies of the Verkhovna Rada. She warned the elected representatives that according to Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“Acceptance of a proposal, promise or undue gain by an official”), they could face 8 to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. However, polygraph testing was not mentioned in the message of the department.

  • Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada David Arahamia and Alexander Dubinsky
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  • © Hennadii Minchenko / Ukrinform via ZUMA Wire

Three deputies from the “Servant of the People” declared their consent to undergo a lie detector test: David Arahamia, Alexander Dubinsky and Alexander Kachura. The rest have the legal right to ignore Zelensky’s demand, since it contradicts the constitution, said Rostislav Ishchenko, president of the Center for System Analysis and Forecasting.

"What does it mean" Zelensky demanded? "There is article 28 of the Constitution, which clearly states that no one, without his voluntary consent, can be subjected to medical, scientific or other research. If there is no voluntary consent, the president can even demand that the deputies go through a polygraph from morning till night, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

According to Ishchenko, the demand of the Ukrainian president, addressed to the deputies of his faction, can be qualified as "exceeding the authority of the head of state."

“Of course, I understand that there will be no impeachment to Zelensky. But in principle, such a requirement is the legal basis to remove the head of state from power, ”said the expert.

The director of the Ukrainian Institute for Policy Analysis and Management, Ruslan Bortnik, doubts that forcing the deputies of his faction to pass a polygraph test, the president of Ukraine is guided by anti-corruption motives.

“If Zelensky wanted to fight corruption without compromise, he probably would have instructed the Security Service of Ukraine or other law enforcement agencies to conduct an investigation as quickly as possible and make representations to bring deputies to criminal liability. But this is not, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

Bortnik recalls that there are no provisions in Ukrainian legislation that would oblige law enforcement or judicial authorities to take a polygraph check into account when making certain decisions. Therefore, the expert believes, Zelensky’s statement "is designed for a psychological effect."

“This is a way of moral pressure without legal consequences, and not even so much on individual deputies, but on the entire“ Servant of the people ”faction. There are now many different groups and centers of influence. A polygraph test tells them all: the faction will make those decisions that suit the president’s office. Otherwise, we will find on dissenting councils, ”said Bortnik.

“Attempt to raise the rating”

RT sources in the Verkhovna Rada claim that Zelensky’s claim is not relevant to the fight against corruption. It only indicates that the president has lost control of his faction.

  • Polygraph
  • © Dima Korotayev / Epsilon / Getty Images)

“Zelensky came to power only because he promised to reduce the influence of the oligarchs on the economy and fight corruption. Less than six months later, it became known that the deputies of his party took bribes. Therefore, Zelensky is trying to somehow react. But this is PR, since he has no influence on the deputies. Well, he will drive them out of his faction, the parliamentary majority will fall apart, and the “expelled” will create their own group. Zelensky will only lose from this, ”the source in the Batkivshchyna faction commented on the situation.

The party "Servant of the people" is very heterogeneous, and some of the deputies are guided by the oligarch Igor Kolomoisky. Therefore, we can say that there is no longer a real coalition supporting Zelensky in parliament today, a RT source in the European Solidarity party said.

“It was immediately clear that the deputies from the Servant of the People would play by their own rules. Many people came to parliament to make money. So they earn them, ”explained the interlocutor of RT.

But, in his opinion, now the president of Ukraine is not concerned about the fight against corruption in parliament, but the more urgent task for him - how to maintain a majority in the Verkhovna Rada.

“Probably, it will be necessary to negotiate with the“ Fatherland ”or with the“ Voice ”, which will have their own requirements,” said a RT source in the European Solidarity party.

Zelensky is upset by information about bribes in the Rada, a spokesman for the Servant of the People party said in a conversation with RT.

“He does not know what to do, therefore, he proposed to go through a polygraph. There is, of course, no benefit from this, because deputies simply can refuse. But as an attempt to raise the president’s rating, this requirement probably makes sense. True, all this does not seem to be a real fight against corruption, ”RT interlocutor concluded.