Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the front man of the popular band Okean Elzy, has finally announced that he won’t be running for president of Ukraine in the March 31 election. Vakarchuk early on Jan. 28 ended months of speculation and rumors, with many having expected him to run.
Some hoped that Vakarchuk, who is liberal and pro-Western, could be the candidate to unite the country’s liberal forces. He fueled the rumors by refusing to give a straight answer about his possible candidacy and sometimes giving cryptic hints that could be interpreted as meaning he planned to run.
But he ended it all a week before the deadline for the candidates’ registration, posting a video statement where he clearly says he’s not running.
“I have no interest in the power itself and in the presidential post itself,” he says in the video. “I’m interested in changing the country for real. And to end all speculations, I’m officially declaring – I, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, am not running for president in 2019.”
But once again, Vakarchuk wasn’t very specific. While saying he wants to bring “real changes” to the country, he said nothing about how he’s planning to do it. His message seemed to hint he will participate in the parliamentary election in October.
“Together with my team, I’ll be working for the victory of the pro-European forces,” he says. “I’ll be working to bring into the country’s leadership as many young professionals as possible – the people of the future, who above all value justice and the interests of Ukraine.”
“I know that today, wearing jeans, I can do more (for Ukraine) than if I change into a suit with a tie,” he added.
Vakarchuk, 43, is one of the country’s best-known pop stars, and no stranger to politics. He was elected to parliament in 2007 for the Nasha Ukraina party of then-president Viktor Yushchenko. But he left Verkhovna Rada just a year later, saying he was disillusioned with the parliament.
