President Zelensky’s party publishes program to 'reset Ukraine's government'
At a session on 9 June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “Servant of the People” party unveiled its program for the upcoming snap parliamentary elections. Its priorities include purging and renewing the country’s government system, eradicating corruption, establishing attractive conditions for business, reforming the social sector and building an innovative economy, the party wrote on Facebook.
“Ukraine needs radical changes. This was confirmed by the voting for Volodymyr Zelensky in the 2019 presidential elections. However, the old political system, a system of corruption, lies and abuses of power, does not want to change anything and is incapable of changing. We need to consolidate all branches of government,” the program’s text states.
“The Servant of the People party is running in the snap parliamentary elections in order to bring to the Verkhovna Rada decent people who will serve Ukraine and its voters. We will implement President Zelensky’s course in concrete laws and political decisions, we will form a professional government, which the people of Ukraine will trust, and together we will introduce radical changes, which will help us to make Ukraine the free, independent and successful country of [our] dreams,” the document stresses.
The first point of the election program is to purge and renew the government system, which Zelensky’s party promises to begin by removing parliamentary immunity, establishing a “people’s veto” mechanism for new laws, and a way for citizens to influence government decisions through referendums. Furthermore, the party promises to fight corruption, to make as many government services as possible available online, to “reset” the prosecution office, to guarantee the real independence of the anti-corruption organizations, to confiscate the property of corrupt officials and to establish a reward system for citizens who expose corruption.
According to the program, the Servant of the People party intends to pass laws that facilitate the country’s Euro-Atlantic direction of development, to reset the Supreme Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges and to implement the institution of jury trials. The program also promises reforms to the law enforcement agencies, better conditions for business, and a national economic audit by Ukrainian and international companies.
“We will carry out an all-Ukrainian census and an audit of the social welfare system. We will introduce the ‘Ukrainian economic passport’, through which all children will receive a share of the exploitation of natural resources to their individual accounts,” the program promises.
The party intends to support the Ukrainian culture and language through tax incentives and state financing. It also promises to establish contact with the Ukrainian diaspora in other countries and to re-integrate the inhabitants of territories that are temporarily not under Kyiv’s control.