Ukrainian Supreme Court allows Yanukovych's chief of staff to run for Rada
KYIV. July 1 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Supreme Court has overruled the Central Election Commission's ban on registering Andriy Klyuyev, the chief of staff of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, as a candidate in the Verkhovna Rada elections campaign, Klyuyev's lawyer Yuriy Sukhov said.
"The law firm Sukhov, Kochan, and Barristers has defended the right of Ukrainian citizen Klyuyev to participate in the electoral process, which is guaranteed by the Ukrainian Constitution and laws, in the Supreme Court's Administrative Cassation Court," Sukhov wrote on Facebook on Monday.
He said that the Supreme Court's ruling was final.
The Ukrainian Central Elections Commission on June 23 denied Klyuyev's request to be registered as a candidate in Electoral District No. 46 of the Donetsk region.
Klyuyev is suspected of abusing his office and conspiring to embezzle public property in the period from May 2010 till April 2011. The Kyiv Pechora District Court allowed the Prosecutor General's Office to start a pre-trial inquiry into Klyuyev's actions. He was summoned for questioning as a suspect on June 26. According to the Ukrainian Security Service, Klyuyev is currently residing in Russia.