289 against corruption. What about the rest?

Ukrainian parliament of this convocation is not so hopeless. They have started to work at last. Whether it has happened as a result of the pressure of the public (initiative “Reanimation Reform Package”), or it was under the onslaught of the Kremlin, but the MPs are implementing really important legislative changes in the country in record short terms. So, on May 13, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a number of legislative decisions, in particular the ones that had not been supported by the majority before.

In particular, it is the bill no. 4556 “On amending certain legislative acts of Ukraine in the sphere of anti-corruption policy which are connected with the plan of action on liberalization of visa regime for Ukraine by the European Union.” This law, which was supported by majority in the VRU on May 13, essentially reinforces the front of the corruption fighters. From now on all violations connected with corruption, both in governmental, and private sectors, will be punished by prison terms (before that bribers faced conditional punishments – firing from the post at maximum). According to the bill no.4556 not only the one who demands a bribe will be prosecuted, but also the one who offers or gives (previously there was no punishment for giving a bribe). Besides, the draft law essentially broadens the possibilities of confiscation of criminal incomes from bribery and regulates the external control and verification of the data in declarations on property, incomes, and expenditures. For giving false information in declaration an official will face both administrative and disciplinary punishment.

The results of the voting were as follows: 289 for, 1 abstained, 0 against, 58 registered MPs did not vote at all. On the whole, only 348 MPs out of 450 were working in parliament on May 13.

The faction cross-section looks as follows: only 43 MPs from the faction of the Party of Regions, which is still the most numerous one, voted for fighting against corruption. Actually, the only person who abstained, Yevhen Kartashov, is namely from this faction. The faction of the Communist Party did not give any votes. Twenty five MPs present did not vote at all.

However, the pro-governmental factions made good news. Fatherland: 82 for, 0 against, 0 abstained or did not vote. According to the data of the written registration, six MPs were absent during the voting in the session hall, including Serhii Vlasenko, Lesia Orobets, Tetiana Sliuz, and Oleh Lukashuk. Volodymyr Bondarenko and Vitalii Yarema, who have left their offices, are named among the absent on the website of the VRU.

In UDAR the situation is as follows: 35 for, 0 abstained and 0 against. At the same time several MPs did not vote. Those are Kunitsyn and Riabikin. Together with the head of the faction Klitschko, Oksana Prodan and Natalia Ahafonova forgot to come or, most likely, put the card in the slot for voting.

In Freedom faction the leader of the faction Oleh Tiahnybok and MPs Yevhen Melnyk and Oleh Helevei were absent during the voting of this law.

In the group “Sovereign European Ukraine,” which includes the non-affiliated MPs and former Regionnaires, Yurii Blahodyr was the one who did not vote. Lytvyn, Kovach, Serhiienko, Khmelnytsky, Dzhyha, and Zherebniuk did not put their cards in the slot.

The group “Economic Development,” which includes members of the former PoR, gave only 26 votes. Out of non-affiliated MPs former Regionnaires Vasyliev, Horina, Hruba, Zhvania, Bohoslovska, Nechaiev, Opanashchenko did not vote for the bill. And even businessman Kostiantyn Zhevaho. On the whole, one-third of non-affiliated MPs were absent at the voting of this bill. In particular, the presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko.