President of Ukraine Demands Election of Head of One of Key Anti-Corruption Bodies

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to the delay in the election of the head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP). The President stated that there could be no adequate explanation why the competition was being delayed.

“All members of the competition commission must do their job and elect a new head of the SAP, as it should be in accordance with the best international practices,” Zelensky said.

According to him, all conditions were created for the activity of the competition commission, and the preparatory work was carried out in a timely and meaningful manner.

“There are actually final stages of the competition. No one has the right to endanger the stability of the anticorruption infrastructure and the implementation of Ukraine’s international obligations,” the Head of State stressed.

Earlier, the European Union and the United States expressed their disappointment at the delay in the election of the SAP head and called for the resumption of the competition commission.

“The EU and the US are greatly disappointed by unexplained and unjustifiable delays in the selection of the Head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Office, a crucial body in the fight against high-level corruption. We urge the selection commission to resume its work without further delays. Failure to move forward in the selection process undermines the work of anti-corruption agencies, established by Ukraine and its international partners,” reads the statement.

It will be recalled that the meeting of the commission for the election of the head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office on Saturday, 9 October, did not take place due to the lack of a quorum. The position of the SAP head has been vacant since August 2020.

Bohdan Marusyak