KYIV, UKRAINE – Zlata Ognevich, a Ukrainian singer and a Radical Party MP, has left Ukraine’s parliament, UATODAY.TV reported.
“I came to the parliament neither for a deputy’s mandate, nor for any privileges. I came as a citizen who saw a new path for Ukraine. And now I see that when there is no culture, it’s much easier to control and manipulate the people,” Ognevich said on Tuesday at a Verkhovna Rada’s session.
“That’s why under such circumstances I, as a cultural activist, see no use of staying in this parliament, I just see the constant carving-up of political powerโฆ.,” she added.
Zlata Ognevich is a Ukrainian singer. She represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest in the 2013 final, Ognevich placed third with her entry “Gravity,” scoring 214 points.
She is also a soloist of the Ensemble of Song and Dance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
On October 26, 2014, Ognevich was a elected an MP (as a non-partisan candidate, she was placed fourth on the Radical Party list). According to Radical Party leader Oleh Lyashko, Ognevich was on the party list because “I understand that people perceive parliamentarians as jowly, paunchy, old, sick and stupid people. I want the young, smart and beautiful in this Parliament”.
While in Parliament, Ognevich has been focusing on cultural and copyright issues.