Kyiv district 223, which includes Shevchenkivsky neighborhood of the city and was the most scandal-hit one in 2012 parliamentary elections, is having a hot race again.
Some 33 candidates are registered in there. And the competition is considered tough, in particular, between member of parliament Viktor Pylypyshyn, who supported so called “dictator laws” during the waning days of deposed President Viktor Yanukovych and member of Svoboda Party Yuri Levchenko, who lost to Pylypyshyn in this district in 2012 election.
Pylypyshyn, 53, has been member of parliament since 2007. If re-elected, he plans to modernize Ukraine’s military forces, stengthen borders with Russia, restore the destroyed Donbas region, pursue NATO membership for Ukraine and decentralization of power, reorganize the Security Service of Ukraine and Interior Ministry, among other plans, according to his agenda.
Pylypyshyn was recently thrown into a trash can by an outraged crowd on his way to the Central Election Commission on Sept. 25. Pylypyshyn reacted to the attack calmly. In his Oct. 8 interview with ZIK, a Lviv TV channel, he said that the assault on him was ordered by his competitor Yuri Levchenko. The attack can be ordered for $15,000-20,000, Pylypyshyn said.
“I’m not feeling any humiliation. I understand that my country is facing hard times and I feel guilty for what is happening here because our country hasn’t changed for 23 years,” Pylypyshyn said. “I’m a pro-European politician, by behavior not by words.”
Meanwhile, Yuri Levchenko accused Pylypyshyn of spreading untrue information about him. “People who were together with Yanukovych, all those, who supported “dictator laws” just can’t compete honestly at election race,” Levchenko said during his Oct.17 press-conference, at UNIAN news agency, agency’s press-center reported.
Yuri Levchenko, 30, is nominated from Svoboda Party where he heads an analytical service. If elected he wants to implement lustration law, deprive deputies, judges and president of their immunity, reorganize police and law enforcement bodies, introduce visa regime with Russia and visa-free regime with Europe, make necessary changes for joining NATO, his agenda reads.
The confrontation between Levchenko and Pylypyshyn has existed since the 2012 election, when the commisision’s declaration of Levchenko’s win was discarbed because of registered violations. As a result, elections were held in the district in December 2013 and Pylypyshyn was announced the winner with 44 percent of support.
This time Pylypyshyn and Levchenko have two new interesting self-nominated competitors, local businessman Oleskandr Olshansky and Dmytro Pavlichenko, who is known as a first Ukrainian, who had lifelong incarceration annulled, after he was wrongly convicted of killing a Kyiv judge.
Oleksandr Olshansky, 45, is a president of Imena.ua and Mirohost, biggest domain name registration and internet hosting, respectively, companies in Ukraine. He is running for the first time. If elected, he would like to create strong army, innovative military industry, reach energy independence, simplify tax system, among other plans, according to his agenda.
Dmytro Pavlichenko, 51, is also trying for parliament for the first time. If elected he wants to introduce an obligatory medical insurance system, system of pension accumulation on personal accounts, free access to public procurement and decrease tax rates, his agenda reads.
Kyiv Post staff writer Anastasia Forina can be reached at [email protected]
