On Wednesday, July 24, the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky sent a written appeal to the government of the country with a request to consider the issue of Vitaliy Klitschko’s dismissal from the post of head of the Kyiv City State Administration (KSCA). At the same time, the president’s office has not yet decided on Klitschko’s successor and does not plan to appoint him before September, writes Ukrainskaya Pravda, citing the spokesman for the country's prime minister, Vasily Ryabchuk.
In turn, the deputy head of the office of the head of state, Ruslan Ryaboshapka, explained that the letter was sent in accordance with the requirements of the law and the Constitution, since all heads of local administrations are appointed by the President of Ukraine on the proposal of the Prime Minister for the term of office of the President.
Ryaboshapka stressed that Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman had previously introduced the idea of dismissing all heads of local administrations, except the chairman of the KSCA. In this regard, the office of the president hopes that the issue of Klitschko’s dismissal will be considered at the next government meeting. At the same time Ryaboshapka urged not to politicize this issue.
According to the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine of 2003, the KSCA should be headed only by a person elected by the Kyiv city head. However, in 2010, the elective office of the mayor of Kiev was divorced from that of the appointed head of the KSCA, and it was in the hands of the head of the city administration that the main powers were concentrated. In 2014, then-president Petro Poroshenko again actually united these posts, appointing Vitali Klitschko, who was elected mayor of Kiev, as the head of the KSCA, elected as mayor of Kiev.
Two weeks ago, Klitschko announced the intention of the Zelensky administration to once again divide the posts of the head of the KSCA and the mayor of Kiev. Moreover, the politician expressed the opinion that in this way the president wants to appoint a functionary loyal to him as head of the city administration, “depriving Kiev of self-government”.
“The President confirmed the rumors that have been circulating for a long time. On the separation of powers in the management of the capital. The chairman of the KSCA is his vertical, and he is going to appoint his own person there, ”Klitschko said in a video message posted on Facebook.
Later, the Ukrainian media, citing a source surrounded by Klitschko, revealed details of the conflict between the mayor and the president. It was reported that the head of the office of the president, Andrei Bogdan, warned Klitschko about his possible dismissal from the post of head of the KSCA.
“Bogdan repeated to him six times that, according to the law, all heads of administrations lay down their powers before the new president. But the president has the opportunity to reassign the leader, if he is effective. Klitschko set the condition: “You have time for a couple of months, show the results of work, get rid of your fellow corrupt officials and can work further,” said a source.
Also, the representative of the team Klitschko expressed the opinion that the separation of two posts can lead to internal confrontation. In particular, utilities will not understand whose instructions to carry out in the first place.
- President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky
- Reuters
- © Valentyn Ogirenko
The RT source in the Popular Front party believes that the decision to separate the posts of the KSCA chairman and the mayor of Kiev can lead to social upheavals.
“People will elect one person, but he will not make any decisions. In reality, a person appointed “from above” will command the city. People may feel cheated. Any negative decision - and they will begin to go to the protests, "- he said.
In turn, the director of the Institute for Peace Initiatives and Conflictology, Denis Denisov, expressed the opinion that despite all the possible negative consequences of Klitschko’s dismissal, he has little chance of remaining in power.
“In Ukraine, a new elite comes to power, naturally, they are interested in as much control as possible over all key posts and posts. In this regard, the decision is made to return to the long-forgotten management scheme through the division of powers in Kiev into the mayor and chairman of the city administration. Apparently, the president and his entourage will be able to do this, ”the expert believes.
The RT interlocutor explained that Klitschko enjoys the support of the authorities of several European countries and can try, by mobilizing his party UDAR (which missed the parliamentary elections), to get a majority in Kiev and some other Ukrainian regions in the next local elections. However, this may prevent a corruption scandal, which is just now unfolding around the figure of the Kiev mayor.
The case of land manipulation
On July 17, lawyer Marina Parinova reported that the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine opened a case against the mayor of Kiev. According to the document that the lawyer attached to the publication on Facebook, Klitschko is accused of fraud with the Kiev land fund. The RRB invited the politician for interrogation on Friday, June 26; besides, they are preparing to open one more case for him.
The mayor of Kiev himself denies all accusations, calls them "bloated nonsense" and claims that the mayor of the capital "acts exclusively in the legal field."
Political analyst Alexander Asafov in a conversation with RT expressed the opinion that all persons who are now associated with the era of Poroshenko will soon be removed from the highest echelons of power.
The expert believes that the new president as head of the KSCA needs a “non-toxic, not so politically stained person”, which will vividly contrast with Klitschko and his “destroyed bridges, constant outages of hot water and failed European events.” Moreover, with the help of this step Zelensky can “make a show”, which he does best, Asafov noted.
“Zelensky’s position is the implementation of an update request. This is nothing meaningful, but nonetheless significant from the outside, exemption from powers will be perceived positively by society. Gradually or sharply squeezing him out of politics is the only possible way to fulfill Zelensky’s election promises, ”the political analyst added.