Member of Ukrainian Parliament reveals why MPs to be expelled from the 'Servant of People' party
The head of the "Servant of the People" faction, Davyd Arakhamia (Photo: RBC-Ukraine, Vitalii Nosach)
The "Servant of the People" party will strengthen deputies' accountability in full-scale war conditions. Deputies will now be excluded from the faction not only for trips to resorts, stated the head of the "Servant of the People" faction, Davyd Arakhamia, in the conversation with RBC-Ukraine.
Arakhamia noted that today the Ukrainian Parliament is working to bring the country as close as possible to the European Union, which, among other things, requires the adoption of 37 Eurointegration laws.
"Not all necessary laws are popular – for example, the bill on returning taxes to the former, pre-war level and resuming audits was unpopular, and it was difficult for me to gather votes for it. But it was a condition for us to receive macro-financial assistance. Today, probably more than 60 kopecks out of every hryvnia in the budget are foreign partners' money," Arakhamia explained.
According to the faction leader, if Ukraine's partners consider it necessary to pass a specific law, the Parliament must accept this condition and gather the votes to pass the bill regardless of resistance.
At the same time, some want to "be popular" and oppose voting when the Verkhovna Rada is currently working on its agenda, fulfilling its duties.
"And for those who don't want to support – in my opinion, let them give up their mandates, then let them go to the next elections when they are held, and tell their voters how great they were when they didn't vote for something," Arakhamia emphasized.
Who is facing exclusion?
Responding to whether specific individuals are facing exclusion today, Arakhamia noted that several of them have been given a final chance to understand the importance of today's votes.
"For example, in religious matters, we always have a free vote; in issues like the Istanbul Convention. But when the state undertakes international obligations, I don't see a corridor for pluralism of opinions; these decisions simply need to be implemented, as promised," added the head of the "Servant of the People" faction.
Recent exclusions from "Servant of the People"
Andrii Kholodov
Recently, "Schemes" published an investigation about Kholodov, claiming that the MP left Ukraine in January 2023 and hasn't returned since. He is abroad with his family, including in Cyprus, where he owns a family estate.
At the end of July, Kholodov submitted a statement to resign from the Parliament.
Yurii Aristov
According to the investigation, in July, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, MP Aristov, vacationed with his family in a 5-star hotel in the Maldives. The cost of a two-night stay is at least 100,000 hryvnias per day.
After some time, the MP submitted a statement to resign from the Parliament. Following this, law enforcement officers announced searches at Aristov's place.
On July 28, a court imposed a preventive measure on him. According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the former MP is suspected of providing false information by an official person official documents to organize luxury vacations on islands in the Indian Ocean.
