70 per cent of Ukrainians do not trust Prosecutor General’s Office, - poll. INFOGRAPHICS

How much do Ukrainians trust the Prosecutor General’s Office: survey results

70 per cent of Ukrainian citizens do not trust the Public Prosecutor’s Office. However, 56 per cent stated that they would trust the Prosecutor General if he were selected through an open competition involving independent international experts.

This is according to a survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation in collaboration with KMIS, commissioned by the Anti-Corruption Centre, as reported by Censor.NET.

Trust in the Prosecutor General’s Office

Thus, 70 per cent of those surveyed stated that they either ‘somewhat’ or ‘not at all’ trust the Ukrainian prosecution service, whilst 26 per cent do trust it

A further 4% were unable to decide on an answer.

"Among the individual response options, 41 per cent of respondents tend not to trust the prosecution service, 30 per cent do not trust it at all, 23 per cent tend to trust it, and 3 per cent trust it completely. Thus, distrust of the prosecution service is almost three times greater than trust," the report states.

Assessment of the Prosecutor General’s independence

The majority of respondents do not consider the former Prosecutor General, Kravchenko, to be an independent figure.

51 per cent of those surveyed replied that he is a dependent figure, whilst 16 per cent consider him independent. A further 32 per cent were unable to decide on an answer, and around 1 per cent refused to answer.

Holding a competition and changing attitudes

The pollsters also asked respondents to imagine a scenario in which the new Prosecutor General and other prosecutors would be selected through an open competition involving independent international experts.

Consequently, 56 per cent of respondents stated that, under such a scenario, they would have greater trust in the Prosecutor General. Only 4 per cent said they would trust him less. For 34 per cent, such a selection mechanism would not affect their level of trust, whilst 6 per cent were undecided.

"Thus, an open competitive selection process involving independent international experts has significant potential to increase trust in the Prosecutor General. At the same time, for around a third of citizens, the change in the selection procedure alone is not sufficient to alter their attitude towards the Prosecutor General," the report noted.

The sociologists noted that the survey was conducted whilst Ruslan Kravchenko had not yet left Ukraine and was still in office as Prosecutor General.

Public information about the NABU and SAPO operation ‘Carthage’, aimed at exposing a criminal organisation within the Office of the Prosecutor General, emerged during the final days of the fieldwork phase of the survey.

Kravchenko’s resignation and the charges against Kryvonos

Earlier, Ruslan Kravchenko stated that he had signed the notice of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and a person close to the head of the SAP.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the Rada to immediately support the dismissal of Ruslan Kravchenko from the post of Prosecutor General.
NABU and the SAPO described Kravchenko’s actions as a continuation of a systematic attack on anti-corruption bodies.
According to the Centre for Political and Legal Reforms, Kravchenko left the country on the night of 14 September.
Subsequently, the Prosecutor General stated that he is currently abroad on a business trip.
According to sources at Censor.NET, Kravchenko registered his trip abroad as an official business trip to Brussels.
Subsequently, Prosecutor General Kravchenko stated that NABU Director Kryvonos is suspected of a sham adoption to evade criminal liability.
On 14 September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the suspension of Ruslan Kravchenko from the post of Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
The Office of the Prosecutor General denied reports that a notice of suspicion had been served on Semen Kryvonos.
Kravchenko accused the NABU of attempting to have the notice of suspicion against the bureau’s director, Semen Kryvonos, revoked through backroom deals.
On 15 September, the President signed Kravchenko’s dismissal.
On 17 September, President Zelenskyy signed a decree appointing Anton Kovalsky to act as Prosecutor General.