The Deputy Head of the Office of the President told about the appointment of the head of the SAPО: “the President does not set deadlines”

In his evening address on July 17, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on all competent authorities to start a competition to elect a new head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), as well as to appoint the head of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO). However, the president did not specify when this should be done, because the final decision depends entirely on the decision of the competition commission.

Andriy Smirnov, deputy head of the Presidentʼs Office, told about this on the air of a nationwide telethon.

According to Smirnov, this issue legally does not depend on the president or his office.

"The president could not set a deadline, because everything is in the hands of the competition commission, which must hold the final meeting and, in fact, announce the results of this competition," he informed.

Earlier, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office announced the meeting of the commission for the election of the head of the SAPO for July 19.

Andriy Smirnov also said that the appointment of the head of the National Anti-corruption Bureau is being held up.

"The appointment of the head of NABU was hindered by a purely technical circumstance at the stage of organizing the competition. The fact is that a person who, at the very moment when the competitive commission was being formed, was a member of the competitive commission for the selection of a prosecutor of the SAPO, was proposed to the composition of the competitive commission for the election of the head of the NABU," said the deputy head of the Presidentʼs Office.

According to him, the Cabinet of Ministers turned to international partners regarding the possible replacement of this person in order to speed up the resolution of this issue. But in the end, the person remained in the commission. So, as soon as the head of the SAPO is announced, they will proceed to the election of the head of NABU.

• For almost two years, the competition commission has not been able to elect a new head of the SAPO, due to internal conflicts and alleged "pressure from the authorities". At the same time, two candidates for the positions of the head of the SAP and the deputy head were still identified. According to scores, NABU detective Oleksandr Klymenko should become the head of the SAPO, and prosecutor Andriy Sinyuk should become his deputy. But the commission cannot approve the final results.
• Activists accuse of delaying and disrupting the competition for members of the Verkhovna Rada commission, who are allegedly controlled by the deputy head of the Presidentʼs Office, Oleg Tatarov. They believe that Tatarov is trying to disrupt the contest, because NABU detective Oleksandr Klymenko is winning. It was he who led the investigation into the case of the ex-director of "Ukrbud" Maksym Mykytas, in which Tatarov also appeared.
• The requirement to appoint the winner of the competition to the position of the head of the SAPO is in the list of mandatory requirements for the start of negotiations for Ukraineʼs accession to the European Union.
• In evening of July 17, Volodymyr Zelensky called on all competent authorities to start a competition to elect a new head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, as well as to appoint the head of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office.