Pastor Adelaja Receives Letter of Gratitude for Participation in Presidential Campaign in Ukraine

During the celebration of the 16th anniversary of the Embassy of God on April 3, 2010, its pastor Sunday Adelaja received a letter of gratitude “for active participation in the presidential campaign" from President Yanukovych.

KYIV – During the celebration of the 16^th anniversary of the religious organization Embassy of God on April 3, 2010, its pastor, a Nigerian citizen, Sunday Adelaja, received a letter of gratitude “for active participation in the presidential campaign of 2010” from Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych, reports the Institute of Religious Freedom.

The letter of gratitude, printed on a Party of Regions letterhead, was presented to Adelaja by the advisor of the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, deputy of the third convocation, Volodymyr Shushkevych who is also a Protestant pastor in the city of Donetsk.

Similar letters were presented to other ministers of the organization. According to Shushkevych, all the letters are officially registered in the Party of the Regions headquarters. In late March in Dnipropetrovsk letters of gratitude “for active participation in the presidential campaign” were received by the leaders of some other organizations of the Protestant Charismatic Movement.

According to the Law of Ukraine on Religious Freedom and Religious Organizations, religious organizations “…do not put forth candidates for bodies of the state government; do not engage in agitation or financing of election campaigns of candidates of these bodies.”

Article 64 of the Law of Ukraine on Elections of the President of Ukraine prohibits persons who are not citizens of Ukraine to participate in election campaign agitation.”