The selection commission for the head of the ARMA has announced the results of the cognitive ability test: only one candidate passed — Viktor Dubovyk, who heads the Directorate for Legal Policy at the Office of the President.
This second mandatory stage — the general aptitude assessment — is required under the competition procedures. The test covers three components: verbal reasoning, abstract-logical thinking, and mathematics. The minimum passing score is 107 out of 145. Only one of the thirteen candidates (another failed to appear) who successfully passed the legal knowledge test cleared this threshold.
The passing score and the nature of the test itself are identical to those used in previous comparable competitions — for example, those held to select the heads of the ESBU and the Customs Service. However, the number of specialists who came forward for the ARMA competition was far smaller than in those cases. Even before the testing began, the selection commission had already extended the application deadline in an attempt to attract a larger pool of candidates and ensure a meaningful selection process. In the end, just fifteen applicants were admitted to the first round of testing.
The commission has decided to press ahead with the competition. Halting the process at this stage without legally prescribed grounds would, on the contrary, create considerably greater risks of a legal challenge from the one candidate who has cleared every required hurdle. The competition, therefore, must go on.
“Yes, it may look unusual — a competition with effectively a single candidate remaining. But under current legislation, the commission simply has no other option. And this is the first time something like this has happened in the history of such competitions.
At the same time, it is yet another signal of a systemic problem: the number and caliber of candidates for positions like this are raising questions with increasing frequency.
Still ahead are a practical assignment, an integrity assessment, a special vetting procedure under anti-corruption legislation, and an interview,” said Andrii Borovyk, Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine.
Only upon successfully completing all remaining stages can a candidate be included in a nomination for appointment. Should a candidate be disqualified, the commission is required to hold a fresh competition from the start.
The Commission noted that the results of the cognitive ability test could be appealed until 6:00 PM on March 27.
At the same time, it is yet another signal of a systemic problem: the number and caliber of candidates for positions like this are raising questions with increasing frequency.
Andrii Borovyk
