Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has said police will not take part in any political activities and attempts to use force or the deployment of ‘goon squads’ (young people resembling sportsmen) will be dealt with.
“Our starting point is that the police will behave themselves as an independent state institution. Irrespective of my political preferences, the police will not take part in political processes. I guarantee this to you,” the minister said to the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency in an exclusive interview.
“[Incumbent President Petro] Poroshenko, [Batkivshchyna Party leader Yuliya] Tymoshenko, [showman and Servant of the People Party leader Volodymyr] Zelensky, [Opposition Platform — For Life leader Yuriy] Boiko, [Civil Position Party leader Anatoliy] Hrytsenko or any other candidate cannot count on special treatment from the police. They can count on protection of their rights even if I personally dislike someone,” Avakov said.
The minister said the functions of minister and National Police chief, who has a five-year contract and is sufficiently independent, have been separated.
“The police will not tolerate any ‘carousel voting’ or ‘multilevel paid campaigning’ [also known as ‘setki’], or any other election falsification schemes. They will not cover them up and will prevent all illegal voting falsification schemes,” he said.
Avakov said only Ukraine’s National Police and National Guard would have the right to use force during the elections.
“No civil activist groups, no ‘goons,’ national corps, patriotic activists and so on will be allowed to use force. I warn you that any use of violence by these groups will be nipped in the bud. They know this well, but I once again repeat it publicly: Even if these ‘setki’ and ‘carousels’ are somehow connected with representatives of the authorities, it will not change the way we will react,” Avakov said.
Carousel voting is a method of vote rigging in elections, alluding to fairground carousels. The term “carousel” refers to the circular movement made by the voters bused from one polling station to another.
