Odesa residents again rally for independence of NABU and SAPO

On July 31 , the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is scheduled to meet to consider the presidential draft law that would abolish the functionality of draft law No. 4555. As a reminder, No. 12414 is the number of the draft law; since it was signed, it has been assigned other numbers.

Today, on July 30, at 19:00, Odesa residents gathered again on Deribasovska Street to rally for the independence of Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies. Previously, protests on this issue have been held in Odesa several times: On July 22 and 23.

About a hundred people gathered at the rally, much less than last week.

On July 23, Mykola Tarasenko, a representative of the NGO "Making You Nervous," said that people would continue to rally if the bill is signed and emphasized that society cannot simply turn a blind eye to laws that appear without people's knowledge. Draft law No. 12414 in question was previously criticized by Transparency International as an attempt to deprive NABU and SAPO of their independence.

According to the voting data on the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, all MPs from Mykolaiv region, most from Odesa region, and some from Kherson region supported the law on the destruction of the NABU and SAPO independence, despite warnings about the threat to the anti-corruption system. According to the Chesno Movement, 263 MPs voted for the document, mostly from the Servant of the People (185), PZZhM (18), Dovira (17), Batkivshchyna (15), For the Future (10), and Restoring Ukraine (9) factions. The bill was partially supported by MPs from the European Solidarity (3 votes), Voice (1), and unaffiliated MPs (5). On the same day, Odesa, Kyiv, and Lviv held rallies against the bill. Protesters are convinced that it could revive the corruption of the Yanukovych era in the country.

Катерина Глушко