• Tweeter
  • republish

The new Ukrainian Parliament dominated by the party of President Volodymyr Zelensky has passed a bill lifting the immunity of deputies on 3 September 2019. REUTERS / Gleb Garanich

In Ukraine, 373 Ukrainian deputies out of 450 voted on 3 September to lift their own parliamentary immunity. This historic decision of the new Parliament controlled by the majority loyal to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was one of the most awaited measures by Ukrainians, according to polls, and a fundamental step in the anti-corruption plan.

From our correspondent in Kiev , Sébastien Gobert

" Here is not a bandit landmark where you can hide for five years, it's the national representation, it's Parliament ." In the Chamber, Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned MEPs of a strong popular reaction if they refused to vote to lift their parliamentary immunity. The political class, denigrated for resounding corruption cases , had been repeating this promise for twenty years.

The novices of politics support the project

It is finally an assembly of new deputies, novices of politics and virgins of scandals, who this time supported the bill with an overwhelming majority. Those who claim to want to challenge the law in the Constitutional Court are those who are among the most sulphurous reputations.

Justiciables like the others

Deputies are now back to litigants like the others. They can not, however, be prosecuted for their political decisions. Volodymyr Zelenskiy thus concretizes his campaign plan: to renovate the political culture and give the judicial system the means for a complete overhaul, which must guarantee its efficiency, its impartiality, and normally, its independence from the political power.