Quick win for Zelenskiy

Ukrainian lawmakers voted to strip themselves of immunity from prosecution yesterday, fulfilling an anti-corruption election promise by reformist President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

A former comedian with no prior political experience, Zelenskiy won the presidency by a landslide in April, tapping into voter anger over graft and low living standards.

Previously, lawmakers could only be stripped of immunity by a parliamentary vote on each individual case. But the new measure passed easily by 373 votes in the 450-seat parliament where Zelenskiy won a majority in a July snap election.

“We promised to remove immunity, we promised that there would be no people with a special status in Ukraine,” said Alexander Dubinsky, a lawmaker in Zelenskiy’s Servant of the People party.

“It is our duty to vote for this law and put people who are outside this hall on equal terms with those people in this hall.”

Before the vote, the president had said it was time to consign lawmakers’ immunity “to the dustbin of history”, arguing that 90% of Ukrainians wanted to see this happen.

Opponents, however, said removing lawmakers’ protection leaves them vulnerable to politically-motivated prosecutions.

Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, leader of the Voice party, said it would vote for the measure because all people should be equal before the law, but said those in power should not succumb to the temptation to abuse the change.

The law, which signals Zelenskiy’s commitment to push through reforms, will take effect from the start of next year.