The vote overturns a controversial law which was rushed through parliament last week
Ukraine’s parliament approved a bill to restore the independence of key anti-corruption agencies, responding to mounting pressure from protests and Kyiv’s foreign backers on President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Lawmakers voted 331 in favour of the bill in the 450-seat legislature in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday. It must now be signed by the speaker of parliament and president before it can take effect.
Protesters gathered in a nearby park watched the vote in the first live television broadcast from parliament since Russia’s invasion in 2022. Kyiv had then banned the livestreams for security reasons in a move criticised by the opposition as non-transparent.
The vote overturns a controversial law which was rushed through parliament last week, placing the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, or NABU, and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, or SAPO, under the control of the General Prosecutor’s Office, a body mistrusted by many Ukrainians which is led by a loyalist to the president.
