MPs from Odesa and Kherson joined the draft law on independence of NABU and SAPO

Only three MPs with ties to the southern regions of Ukraine signed the draft law restoring the independence of the NABU and the SAPO. Most representatives of the South did not support this initiative, despite its importance for European integration and anti-corruption reform.

This is evidenced by data released by MP Roman Lozynskyi.

The Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 13531, which provides for the restoration of full institutional independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP).

The initiative has already been signed by 48 MPs from different factions and groups - Voice, European Solidarity, Servant of the People, Batkivshchyna, and non-factional MPs.

The document may be put to a vote in the near future. Its authors emphasize that the independence of key anti-corruption bodies is a prerequisite for continuing reforms and bringing Ukraine closer to EU membership.

However, the signatories include only three MPs from the southern regions of Ukraine (Odesa, Kherson, and Mykolaiv):

• Oleksiy Honcharenko - European Solidarity, majoritarian from constituency 137 (Odesa region, Podilsk);
• Serhiy Kozyr - "Servant of the People", elected in Kherson region (constituency 184);
• Roman Kostenko - "Holos", originally from Kherson, but was elected to the Rada on the party list, without a majority constituency.

Other MPs representing the south, including majoritarian MPs and those from Mykolaiv region, did not join the signatories. This may raise questions about the real support for anti-corruption reform in the region, where corruption has traditionally been one of the most acute problems.

Most of the signatories are MPs from the central and western regions of Ukraine, as well as representatives of party lists.

Draft law No. 13531 is aimed at removing legal and political restrictions that have weakened the autonomy of the NABU and the SAPO in recent years. Its signatories call the document one of the key steps to ensure an effective fight against corruption.

Out of ten MPs from Odesa region, six voted in favor of draft law No. 12414. All six MPs from Mykolaiv region and four from Kherson region, including Sergiy Kozyr, also supported it.

The adoption of the law was preceded by high-profile searches of anti-corruption agencies by the SBU and a statement about the exposure of alleged Russian agents in the NABU. In the same context, the parliament passed amendments to the CPC that expanded the powers of the Prosecutor General: he can now intervene in NABU cases, including closing proceedings and giving instructions to SAPO prosecutors.

The document was previously criticized by Transparency International as an attempt to destroy the independence of the NABU and the SAPO. Its adoption sparked a wave of protests across Ukraine - in Odesa, in particular, activists took to the central streets to protest against the provisions that undermine the anti-corruption reform.

Анна Бальчінос