The Verkhovna Rada previously used amixed voting system, in which 50% of the seats were distributed under party lists with a 5%election threshold and the other 50% throughfirst-past-the-post voting systems insingle-member constituencies.[14][15] The method of 50/50 mixed elections was used in the 2002, 2012, 2014 and 2019 elections; however, in 2006 and 2007, the elections were held under a proportional system only.[16] According to the election law that became valid on 1 January 2020, thenext election to the Verkhovna Rada, set to be held after the Russian invasion of Ukraine ends, will be held under a proportional system.[17]
The current name of the parliament derives from theSoviet practice of calling the national parliament and parliaments of its constituent republicsSupreme Soviets (Russian:Верховный совет,romanized: Verkhovnyy soviet). Like in many other Soviet republics,Verkhovna Rada is a localized version of this term used in theUkrainian SSR. After Ukraine regained independence in 1991, the termVerkhovnaya Rada (Russian:Верховная Рада) had been in use in both Russian and Ukrainian-basedrussophone media as aloan translation of the Ukrainian term.Verkhovna, the feminine form of the adjective"верховний" meaningsupreme, derives from theUkrainian word"верх" meaning "top".
Another name, used less commonly, is theParliament of Ukraine (Ukrainian:Парламент України).
Thefirst elections to the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR took place on 26 June 1938. The first session of the parliament took place in Kyiv from 25 July through to 28 July 1938. The first chairman of the council wasMykhailo Burmystenko who later died duringWorld War II. In 1938, aPresidium was elected by the council that was chaired byLeonid Korniyets. The Presidium represented the council whenever it was not in session.
During the war, the Presidium was evacuated to the city ofSaratov in theRussian SFSR. On 29 June 1943, the Presidium issued an order postponing elections for the new convocation for one year while extending the first convocation. On 8 January 1944, theCouncil of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR in agreement with the Communist Party decided to relocate the Presidium of the Supreme Council from Kharkiv to Kyiv. New elections were scheduled for 9 February 1947 for the Council.
The twelfth convocation of the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR issued theDeclaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine on 16 July 1990, and declaredUkrainian independence on 24 August 1991, at approximately 6 p.m. local time.[24] At the time, theChairman of the Verkhovna Rada wasLeonid Kravchuk. The Act of Ukrainian Independence was overwhelmingly supported in anational referendum held on 1 December 1991. On 12 September 1991, the parliament adopted the law "On the Legal Succession of Ukraine".[1] Thus, the VR became theSupreme Council of Ukraine.
TheConstitution of Ukraine[25] was adopted by the thirteenth convocation of the Verkhovna Rada on 28 June 1996, at approximately 9 a.m. local time. The parliament's fourteenth convocation officially changed the numbering of the convocations proclaiming itself thethird (democratic and independent) convocation of the Verkhovna Rada.[26] After theOrange Revolution,constitutional amendments were adopted in December 2004,[27] by the fourth (fifteenth) convocation of the Verkhovna Rada. On 1 October 2010, theConstitutional Court of Ukraine overturned the 2004 Amendments, considering them unconstitutional.[28][29] On 21 February 2014, parliament reinstated the December 2004 amendments to the constitution.[30]
In 2017 and 2018, the website of the Verkhovna Rada was the most popular among all websites of the parliaments ofUN member states.[31]
After the transfer of the capital of the Ukrainian SSR fromKharkiv to Kyiv in 1934, a several government buildings was planned for the city.[32] In 1936, a contest for the construction of the parliament building was won by architectVolodymyr Zabolotny.
The original building was constructed from 1936 to 1938. Destroyed in theSecond World War, the building was reconstructed from 1945 to 1947. The rebuilt glass dome is one metre higher than the original.[32]
The Verkhovna Rada is the sole body oflegislative power in Ukraine. The parliament determines the principles of domestic and foreign policy, introduces amendments to theConstitution of Ukraine, adopts laws, approves the statebudget, designates elections for thePresident of Ukraine, impeaches the president, declares war and peace, appoints thePrime Minister of Ukraine, appoints or confirms certain officials, appoints one-third of theConstitutional Court of Ukraine, ratifies and denounces international treaties, and exercises certain control functions.[33] The constitution of Ukraine stipulates that the Verkhovna Rada is authorized to fulfill its functions under the condition that at least two-thirds of its constitutional composition (300 or more people's deputies) are elected.[34]
In Ukraine there are no requirements for the minimum number of signatures (of deputies) to register a bill.[35] In general the parliament adopts about 200 bills per year.[35] An average of five to six bills are registered daily in parliament.[35] As a result of this in the spring of 2019 parliament had more than 10 thousand registered and under consideration bills it had yet to debate.[35]
All procedural regulations are contained in the Law on Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.[36] The latest version of the document was adopted on 16 December 2012, in which through the initiative of thePresident of Ukraine amendments were made concerning registration and voting by parliamentarians.[37] 2012 became a year of numerous changes in regards to the document, among which were changes to the election of the chairman. Bills are usually considered following the procedure of three readings; the President of Ukraine must sign a law before it can be officiallypromulgated.[38]
Until 2017 the parliament appointed and dismissedjudges from their posts and permitted detention or arrest of judges (those powers were transferred to theHigh Council of Justice).[39]
The Verkhovna Rada is aunicameral legislature with 450 people's deputies (Ukrainian:народний депутат) elected on the basis of equal and direct universal suffrage through a secret ballot.
All members of parliament are grouped into parliamentary factions and groups. Members of parliament who were elected from a certain party list are not necessarily members of that party.[40] Parties that break the 5% electoral threshold form factions in the parliament. The formation of official parliamentary factions is regulated by the Verkhovna Rada's rules and procedures.
Only 15 or more deputies may form a parliamentary faction and an MP may be a member of only one faction at a time. The chairman and his two vice-chairmen may not be the heads of factions.[29][41] Under current parliamentary rules a faction of non-partisan politicians can not be smaller than the smallest faction of a political party.[42]
Deputies who are expelled from factions or decide to leave them to become individual lawmakers; individual deputies are allowed to unite into parliamentary groups of people's deputies that again have at least 15 deputies.[29][41] Several influential parties have been founded after originally being formed as a faction in the Verkhovna Rada, for example, theParty of Regions,All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" andLabour Ukraine.[43][44][45][46]
Each parliamentary faction or group appoints a leader.
Since theImperative mandate provisions of theUkrainian constitution came into effect again in February 2014 a political party can withdraw a parliamentary mandate if one of their MPs leaves its parliamentary faction.[47] MPs whodefected from one faction to another were derided as "tushky" (carcass).[48][49] The insult was applied to MPs allegedly bribed to switch factions.[48]
Parliament is primarily male. Women accounted for 8.5% of MPs in 2010,[50] 10% after the2012 parliamentary election[51] and 11.1% after the2014 parliamentary election, the highest in history.[52] Conversely, female representation in national legislatures within the EU was 25% as of 2014.[52] Female representation rose considerably after the 2019 elections, achieving a 21% female Rada.[53]
Members of the Verkhovna Rada are known officially as "People's Deputies of Ukraine" (PDs). According to the "Law on elections of national deputies of Ukraine",[56] a citizen of Ukraine may become a People's Deputy if he or she has, on the day of the election, a) reached 21 years of age; b) political franchise; c) resided in Ukraine for the last five years.
Deputies have the right to free transportation, free use of the hall of official delegations, free housing, free medical services and free vacations athealth spas.[57][58] Each deputy is allowed to have up to 31 assistant-consultants, four of which may be admitted into the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada.[59] Until 2019, theUkrainian President, Prime Minister,members of the government and deputies all hadparliamentary immunity[60] and agents of law enforcement were prohibited from searching their homes or following them.[61] During theOrange Revolution[61] and the campaign for the2007 parliamentary election Party of Regions, OU-PSD and BYuT all promised to strip lawmakers of parliamentary immunity.[60] In June 2008 the parliament failed to adopt theBill on restriction of privileges for deputies and introduction of imperative mandate. 192 of 436 PDs registered in the plenary hall voted in favor of the bill. The factions of the opposition Party of Regions, as well as the CPU and the Lytvyn Bloc, voted against it. The OU-PSD faction voted partially in favor, while the bill's sponsor, the BYUT, voted unanimously. A proposal to send the bill for first reading a second time also failed.[57] In May 2009 thesecond Tymoshenko Government approved a bill amending theLaw on the status of a people's deputy of Ukraine, which reduced the privileges of incumbent and former deputies.[62] The parliament canceled some benefits and payments to lawmakers in December 2011.[63]
A PD's absence from the Rada may be punished by withholding their salary.[64]
In December 2019, PDs lost most aspects of parliamentary immunity, with the exception of statements and votes conducted in parliament or its bodies .[65]
In early 2020, theServant of the People party announced plans to reduce the number of deputies from 450 to 300.[76] A vote garnered 236 votes in favor, 40 against, and 86 abstentions.[76]
Before assuming office, deputies must take the following oath before the leadership of the Rada and fellow deputies on the first day of a new session of the Rada.
In the original Ukrainian:
Присягаю на вірність Україні. Зобов'язуюсь усіма своїми діями боронити суверенітет і незалежність України, дбати про благо Вітчизни і добробут Українського народу. Присягаю додержуватися Конституції України та законів України, виконувати свої обов'язки в інтересах усіх співвітчизників.[77]
English translation:
I swear allegiance to Ukraine. I commit myself with all my deeds to protect the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, to provide for the good of the Motherland and for the welfare of the Ukrainian people. I swear to abide by the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws of Ukraine, to carry out my duties in the interests of all compatriots.[78]
The Verkhovna Rada elects from among its ranks a Chairman (Speaker;Ukrainian:Голова Верховної Ради), a First Deputy Chairman, and a Second Deputy Chairman.[79]
Before the Chairman of a newly convoked Rada is elected,parliamentary sessions are presided over by members of a temporary presidium of the first session (Ukrainian:тимчасова президія першої сесії). The temporary presidium is composed of five deputies, representing the four largest parliamentary factions plus the chairman of a preparatory deputy group of the first parliamentary session. However, the Rada may deviate from this composition.
Should the office of President of Ukraine become vacant, the chairman becomes the acting head of state, though with limited authority.[83] As head of state, the chairman may dissolve parliament, appoint candidates to critical posts or submit such candidates for parliamentary approval, grant military ranks, create state orders, and exercise the right ofpardon.[83] There are no codified constitutional or legal instructions for succession if there is simultaneously no President or chairman.
The Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada is a collective name adapted for the chairman and their deputies out of tradition. Before thecollapse of the Soviet Union, it was an official office elected at the first session of each convocation of the Supreme Soviet. Originally it consisted of a chairman, their two deputies, a secretary, and 19 additional members. The Presidium was regulated by Section 106 of the 1978Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR, which granted Presidium almost all of the Rada's powers wherever the latter was not in session, on the condition that any decrees be laid at the next parliamentary session for approval.[84] Since the adoption of theUkrainian Constitution, the Presidium has been abolished. However, Rada leadership including the current chairman, their deputies and potentially faction leaders are sometimes called the Presidium.
Article 18 of the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada require the first session of every newly elected parliament be headed by a temporary presidium of six MPs.
Ceremonial opening and the first session of new convocation
The first session of each newly elected parliament is highly important. A "Preparation" deputy group is tasked with planning the first session, with support from the Rada's Office. The Preparation group is composed of newly elected PDs under the authority of the previous session's chairman or their personal deputies. This is required by Article 13 of the Regulations. The Preparation group elects its own chairperson, the chairperson's deputies deputy and a secretary. The group is also responsible for establishing committees.
Before the opening of the first session, all newly elected PDs gather for the oath ceremony. This is required by Article 14 of the Regulations. Invitations to take the oath are given by the chairman of the previous convocation. The chairman grants the leading word to the oldest PD, and asks PDs stand and recite the oath aloud. PDs sign a copy of the oath as well, which is then stored in the Rada's archives.
Plenary meetings of the first session review the following matters: formation of the provisional presidium, establishment and registration of the factions, pending legislation and the elections of the Counting Commission, the chairman, and the chairman's deputies. They also conduct hearings on extraordinary messages on domestic and foreign affairs from the President, hearings regarding the Preparation group report and parliamentary committees. They also address the Conciliation board of deputy factions in the media coverage of Rada activities and sessions.
The Office of the Verkhovna Rada is a support department providing organizational, legal, social, analytical and other assistance to parliament, other departments with parliament, and PDs. The Office is officially non-partisan, existing mainly to provide secretarial help.
Before the first session of each new parliament, the Office provides PDs various documents, including theConstitution of Ukraine, the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada, election results from theCentral Election Commission, the Law of Ukraine on the Status of People's Deputies, and others. This is required by Article 12 of the Regulations.
The Office of the Ombudsman was established in 1998 and led byNina Karpachova until 2012. The Office of the Ombudsman has its own secretariat and advisory council. The current Ombudsman isLyudmyla Denisova, who replacedValeriya Lutkovska in 2017.
The Rada establishes parliamentary committees.[85] On 4 December 2014, parliament formed 27 committees and 2 special control commissions.[86] The previous parliament (2012–2014) had 29 committees and anad hoc supervisory board.[85] The sixth session of the Rada (2007–2012) had 28 committees, including the Budget Committee, the Special Control Commission of the Verkhovna Rada on Privatization, and the Committee on Transportation and Communications. There are no permanent orstanding committees, though committees from previous convocations may be re-formed. Among the most important is the Budget Committee.
PDs may create temporary investigative commissions. Creating such a commission requires one-third of the constitutionally enumerated seats (i.e. 150/450 members). Before a bill for creating such a commission may be schedule for voting, it must be approved by the Committee on Regulations.
This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: No coverage since 2013. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2024)
Brawls are not unusual in the Rada.[87][88][31][89] On several occasions work in parliament is blocked bysit-ins by various parties (usually for a couple of days; but in 2008 from 18 January till 6 March[90] and in February 2013 for 17 days[91]).[92][93] In 2000 and on 4 April 2013 the parliament split into two and held two sessions on two different premises.[94]
A noticeable incident was the disorder of 27 April 2010, after the parliament ratifieda treaty that extended the RussianBlack Sea Fleet lease in theCrimean port ofSevastopol until 2042, whenChairmanVolodymyr Lytvyn had to be shielded with umbrellas as he was pelted witheggs, whilesmoke bombs exploded and politicians brawled.[95][96] Another major incident occurred on 16 December 2010 when several Rada members were admitted to hospital afterParty of Regions politicians stormed the parliament podium, which was occupied by theBloc Yulia Tymoshenko faction.[92][97][98]
On 12 December 2012, an all-out scuffle broke out in Parliament, asBatkivshchyna party members attempted to prevent the swearing in of two members who had left the party during[99] the body's first session followingthe October 2012 election.[99] The same day members of theAll-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda" removed the fence around the Verkhovna Rada[100] that was installed early October 2012.[101][102] The speaker of the parliamentVolodymyr Rybak promised to review the incident of the fence removal.[103] The fence is not accounted as the property of parliament nor the city ofKyiv. Rybak noted that the matter might require a review within a special designated committee.
It is represented there by the parliamentary delegation of the Verkhovna Rada consisting of 12 representatives including a chairperson of the delegation, a vice-chairperson and their 12 substitutes; in total, 24 members. The Ukrainian delegation also has its own permanent secretariat of four members that assist in the inter-parliamentary relationships between the PACE and the Verkhovna Rada. For the full list of members, refer to the PACE main website at assembly.coe.int.
The parliamentary electoral system has repeatedly changed. Eachconvocation of the Rada has been elected under different sets of laws which have evolved from the purely majoritarian system of the Soviet era to the purelyproportional scheme effective from 2006 until 2010. Thenext election[106] will be held under such a proportional scheme.[17]
In the1990 and1994 elections, all 450 MPs were elected insingle-member districts. Ukraine was therefore divided into 450 electoral districts, each contributing one MP. To win a seat, a candidate needed more than 50% of the votes. If no candidate had 50%, then the two leading candidates participated in a run-off vote.
In the1998 and2002 elections,[16] 225 MPs were elected in single-member districts as earlier (with the exception that the candidate needed only a simple majority to win). The remaining 225 MPs were elected on aproportional basis. These seats were divided between parties who passed a 4% electoral threshold.
Unlike previous elections, the2006 and2007 elections were exclusively proportional; all 450 seats were determined through the proportional electoral system. Seats were divided between parties who passed a 3% electoral threshold. For the2007 election, the threshold percentage was not changed, but some amendments to the election process were made. In the2012,2014 and2019 elections[107] a mixed voting system was again used (50% under party lists and 50% under simple-majorityconstituencies)[14] with a 5%election threshold.[15]
Ordinarily, elections would haveoccurred in 2023.[106][17][15][108] The imposition ofmartial law in response to theRussian invasion of Ukraine has indefinitely postponed elections, as the Ukrainian constitution prohibits holding elections while under martial law.[109] The newest version of the electoral code, which took effect on 1 January 2020, specifies the next election will have no single-member constituencies. Instead, MPs will only be elected on a party list in one nationwide constituency with a 5%election threshold withopen regional lists of candidates.[17]
^In July 2021, seven Voice MPs announced that they were leaving the party due to disagreements with leaderKira Rudyk, and creating a parliamentary group called Justice. In turn, all seven were expelled from Voice; since then, four more MPs have joined the breakaway group. However, they officially remain part of the Voice faction in the Rada.[3]
^Parliamentary group formed from former deputies ofOpposition Platform — For Life, which was suspended due to suspected Russian government ties.[4][5] In the 24 March 2022 parliamentary sitting, five deputies announced their resignation from the OPFL. The Rada is consulting with theMinistry of Justice against the remaining deputies as Ukrainian law does not provide for a single mechanism for suspending the activities of a party represented in parliament.[6] On 24 April 2022, MPs from OPFL created a deputy group Platform for Life and Peace[7]
^New party, but had 65 MPs in the last parliament, seats decreased by 59. 39 MPs from the first version ofOpposition Bloc, 25Revival and 1 independent MP which is a total of 65 MPs.[110][111]
^Including 4 members ofOur Land, 3 members ofUKROP, 1 member ofAgrarian Party and 1 member of "For specific cases" party. They were not nominated by their parties.[112][113]
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