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President's third friend: how Rada appointed new prosecutor general. PHOTOS
On Thursday morning, May 12, few imagined that the country would have new prosecutor general by evening.
As reported by Censor.NET, at midday, after the "one man law" was supported by 258 deputies, majority of whom was represented by Vidrodzhennia and Volia Narodu factions [to certain extent composed of former Party of Regions members - ed.], and Petro Poroshenko Block deputy chair Oleksii Honcharenko told reporters in a confident way that by the evening session the president would have introduced the candidate for the post of prosecutor general, the chances of Lutsenko taking office went up.In the afternoon, it became known that Poroshenko had signed the law allowing Lutsenko to become prosecutor general and hastily introduced his candidacy in the parliament. Meanwhile, rumors about strict instructions in the PPB chat to all the deputies of the president's faction concerning their coming for the evening session without delay started to circulate on the sidelines of the Rada.
By 4 p.m., the prosecutor's office law had already been published in a special issue of "Holos Ukrainy" government newspaper as security measures were enhanced in the parliament, including the check of the session hall for suspicious objects.
Ihor Kononenko, who had been previously reinstated as PPB faction first deputy head, negotiated something near Verkhovna Rada's fifth entrance, where VIP deputies and officials usually drive up in their elite foreign cars.
Security was trying to hide Kononenko from prying eyes as the MP did not want to talk to journalists.
VIPs from Opposition Bloc Yurii Boiko and Vadym Novynskyi had to make their way to the fifth entrance along Hrushevskoho Street.
Former Party of Regions members said they would not vote for Lutsenko but apparently dared not to completely ignore the appointment of the new prosecutor general. MPs Homutynnyk and Dovhyi, whose factions gave the decisive votes in favor of Lutsenko, arrived at the parliament by 4 p.m.
Chief of the State Guard Office Valerii Heletei (in the center) instructed subordinates, waiting for presidential motorcade's arrival.
At 4:40 p.m., presidential Mercedes, accompanied by a minibus and several cars with flashing lights, entered the courtyard of the parliament.
After the president arrived, Radical Party representatives rushed to block the rostrum. PPB deputies tried to outrun them and be the first to take the "outpost".
A scuffle occurred, in which PPB deputy chairman Oleksii Honcharenko got squashed a bit.
However, it all looked like an element of a show attended by all parties.
As Poroshenko entered the hall, "radicals" were calling out "Shame!" and the presidential faction was applauding.
During his speech, Lutsenko said that his methods of fighting corruption differed from that of Lee Kuan Yew.
"I have a slightly different philosophy: one has to choose such friends who won't have to be jailed. I do not have a jail list in my head. For all the years of my imprisonment in a 9-meter cell in Lukianivska pretrial detention center, I have nobody to avenge myself on," Lutsenko said.
At 6:15 p.m., the time had come for the parliament to vote for new prosecutor general. People's Front, PPB, Vidrodzhennia (unanimously), Volia Narodu, and some individual deputies supported Lutsenko's candidacy as scoreboard showed 264 votes "in favor".
Samopomich voted down almost unanimously, while Radikal Party gave only one vote in favor of Lutsenko (MP Vitko).
Three Opposition Bloc deputies also supported Lutsenko - Zviahilskyi, Papiiev, Nechaiev.
First congratulations...
Speaker's instructions...
..and the president's ones.
Immediately after the parliament gave its consent to appoint Lutsenko prosecutor general, Poroshenko signed the resolution with some deputies screaming "Shame!".
After that, Lutsenko took the oath as a member of the Supreme Council of Justice.
Speaking to reporters after the fateful vote, Lutsenko said he wasn't "prosecutor either in his soul or by vocation" and saw himself in office for only one year and a half.
Lutsenko added that "sentencing Yanukovych and his gang is a good idea."
The new prosecutor general also promised that the General Inspectorate would be set up to expose traitors and corrupt officials in the prosecutor's office, and the new law would allow the PGO to institute more than 1,000 cases against those who had betrayed Ukraine.
