Ukraine president strives to turn popularity into power
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, the comedian-turned-president, will try to take control of Ukraine’s parliament in a snap election today to begin enacting his programme of sweeping anti-corruption reforms.
Mr Zelenskiy called the early vote as soon as he was elected in a landslide in April, in an attempt to turn his initial popularity into a viable power base.
Despite the new president’s mandate, a recalcitrant old-guard parliament has refused to approve his ministerial appointments or take action on his reform initiatives.
Mr Zelenskiy’s new Servant of the People party, named after the television show in which he played a teacher who becomes president, is expected to win 40 to 50 per cent of today’s vote. None of the party’s candidates has previously served in parliament.
In a sign of his intentions to shake up the existing system, Mr Zelenskiy fired 11 ambassadors on Friday.
Last week, he called Vladimir Putin, whose government backs breakaway republics in a simmering conflict in eastern Ukraine, over a possible prisoner exchange. Besides continuing Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union and Nato, Servant of the People is pledging to cancel MPs’ immunity from prosecution, ban proxy voting in parliament and introduce prison sentences for illegal enrichment.
Servant of the People is not guaranteed a majority, however, as 199 of the 424 seats will be filled by first-past-thepost races that could be dominated by local political players. A pro-Russian opposition party led by Viktor Medvedchuk, who counts Mr Putin as a friend, is polling in second place, while rock star Svyatoslav Vakarchuk has thrown his hat into the race as head of Holos, another new party that is refusing to put current MPs on its list and the most likely coalition partner for Mr Zelenskiy’s party.