The selection commission in charge of picking the new head of the National Police has narrowed the choice from 10 applicants to three final candidates.
They are Deputy Head of the National Police Kostyantyn Bushuyev, head of Ministry of Justice’s Free Legal Aid Coordination Center Andriy Vyshnevsky, and head of Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police Serhiy Knyazev.
The finalists were announced at a press conference on Feb. 6.
Now it’s up to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov to choose one among the three.
But the selection commission has voiced their recommendations on who should be picked.
“The commission recommends as the number one Kostyantyn Bushuyev, Andriy Vyshnevsky as the second and Serhiy Knyazev – the third,” the commission member, legal expert Michael Lyngbo said during the press conference on Feb. 6.
Thus, the commission backs the current deputy head of the National Police above other candidates.
At the same time, the commission secretary Yevhen Zakharov said that while Bushuyev demonstrated the most profound understanding on how to reform the National Police, he lacked experience in criminal investigations.
The position of the head of the National Police has been vacant since Nov. 14, 2016 when Khatia Dekanoidze resigned from the job. Dekanoidze said she faced attempts of political interference with the police, but did not give any names.
The competition to replace Dekanoidze started on Dec. 15 and had several stages.
Overall the commission received 70 applications, out of which 24 candidates were cast out immediately. They lacked one of the necessary requirements for the job: legal education, seven years of experience in the rule of law field, or five years of experience in a management position.
The remaining candidates were invited on Jan. 24 to pass a qualifying test which consisted of 60 questions aimed at measuring the candidates’ intellect. Based on their resumes, cover letters and test scores the commission picked 10 best applicants by the end of January, and narrowed their pick to three candidates in early February.
“I want to assure everybody that no pressure was made on the commission. Every candidate (of the final three) deserves to be the head of the National Police. Now the decision is to be made by the interior minister,” Zakharov said.
According to him, Interior Minister Avakov planned to interview all three finalists on the same day, Feb. 6. After that, Avakov will submit his candidate to Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to get him approved by the Cabinet.
The new head of National Police should be approved by the government on Feb. 8, according to the selection commission.
