Despite the failed no-confidence vote in the Ukrainian Parliament, calls for new mid-term parliamentary elections have not diminished. They originated with the Opposition Bloc (former Regions Party) and were then taken up by the Fatherland Party and, subsequently, the Self-Reliance Party. Not so coincidentally, leaders of the Russian Federation are strong supporters of new elections.
According to snap election advocates, the government is in crisis because the President and Prime Minister have failed to implement government reforms and to eliminate corruption. Their main argument is that no high level corrupt officials and oligarchs have been arrested.
Why then are leaders of the Maidan Revolution of Dignity, who have since become members of parliament and are leading advocates and authors of government reforms and anti-corruption legislation, opposed to new elections?
After all, there appears to be no disagreement between the two sides or among top government leaders on key policies. For the first time since the restoration of independence in 1991, there is unanimity on rejecting any form of union with Russia and supporting joining the European Union and the Euro-Atlantic community. All agree on the need to implement government, economic and fiscal reforms, including eliminating corruption, as set forth, inter alia, in the IMF loan requirements and the terms of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement.
For those who oppose snap elections, maintaining national unity and stability is the sine qua non to preserving and safeguarding the nation-state. Simply put, without a sovereign state, the Ukrainian people will have nothing to reform. They point out that for two years Ukraine has been fighting a war that has caused nearly 10,000 deaths, thousands more wounded, a huge humanitarian crisis of nearly 1.5 million internal refugees, massive destruction of infrastructure and economic production and an unprecedented economic crisis and governance breakdown left by the deposed tyrant and lackey of Russia. In the midst of these calamities Ukrainians elected a new President, a new Parliament and new provincial and local officials. To expect that during two years of monumental upheavals, Ukrainian society will rid itself of corruption and put in place a new social order based on rule of law and good governance is unrealistic in the extreme. Without question, the departure of Yanukovych and his immediate entourage did not also result in the flight of hundreds if not thousands of corrupt government officials and others, including the oligarchs. They remained in Ukraine and had to be cajoled and reined in if only to stop or prevent them from seditious acts as a fifth column for Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine.
At a time of war and economic dislocation the herculean challenge facing Ukraine is to maintain stability while simultaneously transforming government and society itself. For, corruption is no less a threat to Ukraine than is Russia’s war. Eliminating corruption is no less important than forcing Russian troops from Donbas and Crimea. However, arresting thousands of corrupt officials from the ministerial to the local level would only serve to undermine stability and wouldn’t address corruption at its source. Moreover, many of the white collar criminals at the top have gone to great lengths to insulate themselves from any possibility of indictment much less conviction. Even if arrested, the legal process mandated by European standards would be extremely costly for the government and drag on for months if not years with no assurance of conviction.
Thus the approach is to eliminate corruption at its source and/or supplant existing corrupt systems with completely new parallel transparent ones, i.e., squeezing corruption out of existence rather than relying solely on breaking corruption through arrest and prosecution. However, investigation, arrest and conviction of corrupt officials is integral to the anti-corruption triad - reforming, supplanting and prosecuting.
There have been real, meaningful and irreversible gains in the fight against corruption. Corruption has been eliminated in the energy field. Gas and oil were the most corrupt sectors of the economy and most lucrative source of illegal gains, used to extend influence in government and the economy by corrupt officials and oligarchs. Today, Ukraine imports no gas from Russia and is virtually self-sufficient in energy supplies. What energy Ukraine does import comes from Europe through a fully transparent system. Ukraine is also using less energy due to government reforms in the areas of supply, pricing and conservation programs.
The whole government procurement process is being made fully transparent, with all tenders, contracts and purchases available on-line. Even in the still to be reformed healthcare sector there has been progress in this regard. Procurement of pharmaceuticals was a highly corrupt enterprise that is now conducted in accordance with international standards and through transparent practices.
Similarly, assets of all government officials and their family members are in process of being put on-line, allowing for quick comparison of their life-style to their declared sources of income.
The Ministry of Education has initiated a new anti-corruption campaign, including investigations and arrests of university rectors.
A further major systemic change is decentralization of government, devolving authority for government services to the local level, especially budget authority. This single transformative measure is only now being implemented with many unforeseen but not surprising issues and complications coming to the fore.
Corruption is also being attacked on the street level through reforms of the police. Anyone even remotely acquainted with current events in Ukraine has heard of the successes achieved in this area. Today, there is virtually no corruption and bribes involving the cop-on-the-beat and citizenry. This success required supplanting virtually the entire system, including hiring and training new police officers and their superiors, establishing standards and procedures that assure accountability while, simultaneously, assuring independence from corrupt influences.
Fighting corruption through investigation, indictment and conviction is also coming to fruition; the anti-corruption bureau has now been put in place. The bureau supplants the general prosecutor’s office, which in many ways is beyond redemption. The most efficient means is to create a new parallel institution. There are now 120 new anti-corruption investigators trained and working. New anti-corruption prosecutors are also being hired and trained. This is an arduous and painstaking process that requires setting up a completely new agency. The depth and breadth of corruption in the justice system were underscored when new regulations had to be recently changed regarding qualifications for becoming an anti-corruption prosecutor. The original requirement of 5 years prosecutorial experience was amended to 5 years experience as a practicing attorney, due to difficulties in finding un-corrupted prosecutors. The anti-corruption investigators and prosecutors are now operational. After only weeks since starting operations, the anti-corruption investigators have submitted their first cases to the special anti-corruption prosecutors, with dozens more cases to be introduced in the near future involving corrupt judges, law enforcement and other senior government officials.
These examples are the tip of what is being done to reform government agencies, and when necessary, to replace them. This process is transforming society itself, as corruption has permeated every facet of daily life. There are ample examples of average people questioning whether requested services or products will be provided since they can no longer offer bribes.
The fight against corruption has made more tangible progress in the last year than in the previous 24 years of independence. Ukraine is one of the few countries in the world today with a real balanced budget. The economic downturn has bottomed out. If not for the depressed global economy, especially in the commodity sectors of agriculture and metallurgy, Ukraine would be showing real growth, even with exorbitant military expenditures and the cost of humanitarian relief due to Russia’s war.
It also is undeniable that the record in reforms is uneven. Corruption in many government agencies has yet to be addressed. Ukraine is a huge country with a territory the size of France and a population of over 40 million. All of this will take time, measured in years not months.
To allow for snap elections now would stop the reform process for at least a year. It would allow populists and demagogues to pray on people’s fears and frustrations. Oligarch control of major media, especially television networks, seeks to divide the nation and drive public opinion toward doom and gloom. And, snap elections would allow Russia to step up its efforts to destabilize Ukraine from within. Election advocates do not have any secret formulas for eliminating corruption overnight. Convening show trials against a host of officials and oligarchs, as personally satisfying as it would be, will not change the ways in which corruption greases the wheels of government and the economy.
The Ukrainian people are enduring immense hardship in the hope of a better future for themselves and their children. They must not be let down by Ukraine’s leaders or by the Euro-Atlantic community. The US, Canada and the EU should continue to publicly and privately press the President and Prime Minister on reforms. They also should increase their support for and work with the reformers in Parliament who are also responsible for much of the progress made to date. With the departure of Fatherland and Self-Reliance parties from the ruling coalition, a new majority is being formed in Parliament that will likely lead to the replacement of up to 40% of the Cabinet. The Ukrainian people need to hear that the West not only sees the problems, but also appreciates the successes.
Continued diplomatic support including maintaining sanctions against Russia and increased support for Ukraine’s military should be a priority for Ukraine’s allies. Similarly, increased and targeted financial and technical assistance for government reforms and to eliminate corruption, are no less important.
In the end, there is no alternative to arduous and painstaking policies that require sacrifice and commitment from the Ukrainian people, their government and political and business elites, and the Euro Atlantic community and their political and economic institutions. Dogged determination to stay the course set out by the Maidan Revolution of Dignity is the right path for Ukraine. Staying true to the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement and the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances is the challenge for the West.
Borys Potapenko
This article is based on observations as a party to the visit to North America in February 2016 by Andriy Parubiy, First Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine. The article has not been reviewed or approved by Mr. Parubiy. While some content may coincide with views expressed by Mr. Parubiy, the conclusions reached are the author’s alone.
Andriy Parubiy, First Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine made an official working visit to Toronto, Ottawa and Washington, D.C. in February 2016. His visit to Canada was arranged by the League of Ukrainian Canadians and sponsored by the BCU Foundation and was conducted in cooperation with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. His visit to Washington, D.C. was arranged by the America Ukraine Committee in cooperation with the Center for US-Ukrainian Relations and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, IL Division.
In Canada, Feb 21-23, 2016 Mr. Parubiy lectured at the Munk School of Global Affairs, met with the Ambassador of Poland to Canada, Mr. Marcin Bosack and former MP Ted Opitz, spoke to a joint session of three Committees of the Canadian Senate, Chaired by Senator Raynell Andreychuk, and was introduced by MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj to and held consultations with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan. He met with Rona Ambrose Leader of the Official Opposition and addressed 30 Conservative MPs in the Chambers of the Leader. He also had an interview with the Globe and Mail.
In Washington, D.C., Feb 24-26, 2016 Mr. Parubiy met with Michael Carpenter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Elizabeth Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, and Anna Makanju, Special Advisor for Europe and Eurasia at the Office of the Vice President. He spoke at the Atlantic Council, American Foreign Policy Council, and at a joint meeting of senior officials from the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute and National Endowment for Democracy. He was a keynote speaker at the US-UA Security Dialogue VII organized by the Center for US-Ukrainian Relations. He met with the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, Rep. Sander Levin and Rep. Marci Kaptur, as well as with Rep. Peter Roskam. He also had interviews with the New York Times and Voice of America.
