Ahead of local elections across Ukraine on Oct. 25, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party has again found itself embroiled in a scandal, this time over a campaign event that may have broken the law.
On Sept. 20, Iryna Vereshchuk, the party’s candidate for mayor of Kyiv, presented candidates running for the Kyiv City Council and a plan on solving “the top-10 problems in Kyiv” during an event that took place at Taras Shevchenko National University in central Kyiv.
But that seemingly normal gathering caused a uproar, with the student council of the university condemning the event. The document published by the council states that the student represenatives are worried about the university getting involved in political parties’ events.
“The student council condemns any political actions, including political agitation on the territory of the university, as well as the use of the name Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University to satisfy political interests,” the document states.
According to the text, the country’s law on education bans political parties, their members and candidates from carrying out their activities in educational institutions.
Apart from that, another document published by the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science on Sept. 14 states that it is forbidden to place or distribute any materials that have the symbols or names of politicians or political parties in educational institutions.
In spite of those regulations, the Servant of the People event took place in the courtyard of Taras Shevchenko University. Members of Ukraine’s ruling party, along with President Zelensky, sat next to a stage featuring a large green banner and a TV screen with a party’s name and logo.
“The student council of the university sees the public event held by the Servant of the People party on the territory of the university as a violation of current Ukrainian legislation and emphasizes that inadmissibility of such events as they can damage the reputation of the university,” the document reads.
In response, Servant of the People wrote on Facebook that the event was held in accordance with Ukrainian legislation.
“The event took place in a part of the open territory of the university on the weekend, when the educational process is not carried out, in the absence of teachers and students,” the party said.
“No classrooms or buildings of the educational institution were used, its employees were not involved in the organization (of the event) and the stage was dismantled and removed on Sunday.”
Apart from that, Servant of the People wrote that political agitation is currently impossible, since according to the Electoral Code, it can only take place once the party has been nominated — “and that process is ongoing.”
Additionally, Servant of the People wrote that it will initiate the opening of the university’s courtyard, which is currently closed to the public, as “it is part of the history and culture of Kyiv.”
However, in its statement, the student council of Taras Shevchenko University said that, according to the official documents it mentioned, it doesn’t matter whether the event was held directly in the building of the university or on its territory.
On Sept. 21, the head of the Taras Shevchenko University student council, Volodymyr Liashenko, said any political event on the university’s territory is unacceptable and the council will investigate the circumstances of the event held by Servant of the People.
“Our attitude is apolitical and we would do this in relation to any (political) party,” Liashenko said.
Recent scandals
The controversy surrounding the event with Vereshchuk comes as Servant of the People’s latest scandal in recent weeks.
On Sept. 18, Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court failed to arrest Oleksandr Yurchenko, a lawmaker from the party who had been charged with bribery. Yurchenko resigned from Servant of the People after being accused of corruption.
Read more: Zelensky party lawmaker escapes arrest, claims exposure to COVID-19
A recent poll has also indicated that over half of Ukrainians are now disappointed with Zelensky’s performance in office.
According to the poll by the Rating Group sociological agency, currently 57% of respondents disapprove of Zelensky’s performance, while 35% approve.
That puts Zelensky’s approval rating at an all-time low and his disapproval rating at an all-time high. The president registered his highest approval rating (70%) and lowest disapproval rating (just over 10%) in September 2019.
