Firsov argues that the decision was Poroshenko’s revenge for his corruption accusations against two key allies of the president, lawmakers Ihor Kononenko and Oleksandr Hranovsky.
The expulsion followed Firsov’s publication of court records from the British Virgin Islands according to which Hranovsky admitted getting $700,000 in cash. Firsov wrote that Hranovsky had not included the amount in his income declaration.
The court was considering the illegal seizure of the Skymall shopping mall in Kyiv. Firsov has repeatedly accused Hranovsky of involvement in the seizure, which he denies.
Firsov has also criticized Central Election Commission chairman Mykhailo Okhendovsky, who rubber-stamped his ouster from parliament. Okhendovsky is also accused of corruption, though he denies it.
Anti-reformer of the week – Mykhailo Okhendovsky
The Central Election Commission, which is headed by Mykhailo Okhendovsky, on March 28 approved stripping ex-President Petro Poroshenko Bloc lawmaker Yegor Firsov of his parliamentary mandate.
Critics say the decision is illegal and was Okhendovsky’s political favor for Poroshenko.
They argue that Okhendovsky’s commission is illegitimate, since the authority of most of its members expired in 2014. Poroshenko has refused to replace them, however.
Okhendovsky, an ally of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, has also been accused of doing nothing to prevent or punish voting fraud in numerous elections, including the March 27 mayoral vote in Kryvyi Rih.
In 2004 Okhendovsky, then a member of the Central Election Commission, defended its position at the Supreme Court, which ruled that a presidential election had been held with numerous violations.
Okhendovsky denies the accusations.
