The political game around the appointment of the Prosecutor General: who benefits from the “acting” status?
14 May 2025 09:56
Since Ukraine has not had a Prosecutor General for six months, and the media from time to time voice different versions of the future candidate for the vacant position, "Komersant Ukrainian" asked MPs about this issue.
None of the politicians interviewed could name a possible candidate for the position of Prosecutor General that could be submitted to the parliament for consideration.
Similarly, parliamentarians have no answers as to which of the likely candidates mentioned in the media have any chance at all or when the Rada might even consider the relevant personnel issue.
READ MORE: The new Prosecutor General of Ukraine: Kravchenko is again predicted to take the post
Mykola Velichkovych, EU faction
“No one is consulting with European Solidarity on candidates (for the post of Prosecutor General – ed.). We understand this. This is now the prerogative or feature of the mono-majority or the Presidential Office, which propose a candidate. I don’t know which of them is likely or unlikely. But this is not a normal situation when the country has no Prosecutor General for a long period of time. I believe that this is the responsibility of the mono-majority, the president, who are responsible for the management vertical and for such appointments.”
Heorhiy Mazurashu, Servant of the People faction
“I think that a candidate supported by the OP can be elected (to the post of Prosecutor General – ed.). Personally, I have no experience of any cooperation or positive cases of interaction with the named candidates (Ruslan Kravchenko, Serhiy Melnyk, Oleh Kiper – ed.) so that I could “drown” for someone. When a candidate is put forward for consideration, I will look at it, consult with my team and specialized acquaintances, and make a decision. But I have not heard that this issue is being discussed by my colleagues in the parliament.”
READ MORE: General Sergiy Melnyk may become the head of the Prosecutor General’s Office: new details
Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Golos faction
“I think the President’s Office will continue to keep the acting Prosecutor General because this situation is most favorable. Firstly, it complicates the procedure for bringing MPs to justice, because only the Prosecutor General has to sign procedural issues regarding the investigation of cases against them. Secondly, the acting Prosecutor General is always as controlled as possible and does not engage in self-promotion, which is not liked in the office. Therefore, there will be no changes.”
Hennadiy Kasai, MP from the Verkhovna Rada Defense Committee (Servant of the People faction ), and Volodymyr Vatras, MP (Servant of the People faction ), said they did not know who Bankova could propose for the position of head of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Oleksandra Ustinova, MP and head of the Voice faction, believes that it is unlikely that the people currently appearing in the media as candidates for the post of Prosecutor General have a real chance of taking the position.
Several other MPs approached by the editorial board’s journalists refused to comment on this topic at all.
Meanwhile,
“They try not to talk about it out loud, but they are careful to hint that the option with the acting president, as it is now, is actually beneficial for everyone. For now. No one knows how long it will last. And after all, MPs are sometimes the last to know who they will have to vote for tomorrow,” said one of the parliamentary staff members.
As written
