Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk has approved President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request to fire Mayor Vitali Klitschko as head of the Kyiv City State Administration.
The Sept. 4 decision means that Klitschko will remain mayor of Kyiv but will lose a significant portion of his powers. Honcharuk said that the main reason to fire Klitschko was his alleged connection to notorious developer Vadym Stolar.
A lawmaker elected to parliament in July on the pro-Russian Opposition Platform — For Life party’s ticket, Stolar was long rumored to be the “gray cardinal” of Kyiv. Klitschko has denied that Stolar influences his decisions as city head.
“I would love to fire not (Klitschko), but rather Stolar, but this person has no formal position and therefore it was impossible to do so,” Honcharuk said.
It’s now up to Zelensky to sign Klitschko’s dismissal. Since the president’s office was the one asking for the Cabinet’s approval, there is little chance that Klitschko will keep his post.
Klitschko, a former heavyweight boxing champion who entered politics in 2012, wasn’t happy.
He called the decision “illegal” and “undemocratic.” He said that the mayor of Kyiv is elected by the people, and therefore should always be appointed the head of the city’s state administration.
“The government is trying to introduce direct rule by the president (over Kyiv),” Klitschko said at a press conference on Sept. 4. “They are trying to deprive the citizens of Kyiv of their right to elect who rules the city.”
Because of the capital city’s special status, power in Kyiv is divided between the mayor, who is elected by the people, and the head of the administration, who is appointed by the president. Since 2014, Klitschko has been occupying both posts, giving him full control of the city.
But Klitschko’s influence decreased after the April 21 presidential election, when his ally, former President Petro Poroshenko, lost his re-election bid to Zelensky.
Read More: Zelensky, Kyiv Mayor Klitschko embroiled in struggle over city leader’s powers
Klitschko’s relationship with the new administration has been strained from the start.
Since July, he has been in open conflict with Andriy Bohdan, the president’s chief of staff.
Bohdan is friendly with Andriy Vavrysh, a prominent real estate developer. The relationship raised fears that Vavrysh would gain the kind of power enjoyed by Klitschko’s friend Stolar.
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Klitschko accused Bohdan of pressuring him, claiming the chief of staff told him to coordinate his decisions with either Vavrysh or Oleksandr Tkachenko, a lawmaker and media manager close to the administration. Bohdan did not comment on the accusation.
When Klitschko is formally fired by the president, Kyiv will likely find itself embroiled in a power struggle due to Klitschko and the new head of administration having overlapping powers.
“Imagine a car with two drivers and two steering wheels. Do you think that car will start?” Klitschko said.
Read More: Klitschko’s shortcomings as mayor are easy to see
