8th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada

Ukraine Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
of the 8th convocation
←7th Verkhovna Rada

Seat composition of the 8th Verkhovna Rada
Meeting place Verkhovna Rada building
Term 27 November 2014 (2014-11-27) –
Election 2014 parliamentary election
Government 28 committees
Website iportal.rada.gov.ua
Members
421 / 450

(since December 9, 2014)

Chairman Volodymyr Groysman
(from Petro Poroshenko Bloc)
First Deputy Andriy Parubiy (from People's Front)
Deputy Oksana Syroyid (from Self Reliance)
Party control No overall control, Coalition dissolved on 19.02.16
Sessions
1st 27 November 2014 – 3 February 2015[1]
2nd 3 February 2015 – 17 July 2015[2]

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 8th convocation (Ukrainian: Верховна Рада України VIII скликання, Verkhovna Rada Ukrayiny VIII sklykannia) is the current convocation of the legislative branch of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's unicameral parliament. The 8th convocation meets at the Verkhovna Rada building in Kiev, having begun its term on November 27, 2014 following the last session of the 7th Verkhovna Rada. Its term will last five years and is scheduled to close its last session on November 27, 2019.

The 8th Verkhovna Rada's composition was based upon the results of the October 26, 2014 parliamentary election,[3] which was contested eight months after the 2014 Ukrainian revolution which saw the overthrow of the Yanukovych regime. Ukraine's head of state during the parliament's term is President Petro Poroshenko. Eleven parties are represented in the Verkhovna Rada, although only six of them surpassed the mandatory 5 percent electoral threshold to gain representation based upon the proportional representation system.

On the first day of the parliament's session, five of the parliament's pro-European parties, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, People's Front, Self Reliance, Fatherland, and Radical Party, signed a coalition agreement. Per the coalition agreement, the current convocation of parliament will be tasked with passing major reforms to ensure Ukrainian membership in European institutions such as the European Union and NATO, while dealing with the threat of further Russian aggression in the Donbass.

Post-election developments

Results of the 2014 election per electoral district. "Pro-Ukrainian" parties are represented in yellow.
Further information: Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2014 in the section titled Background.

Prior to the parliament's official swearing-in ceremony, Volodymyr Groisman was the chairman of the parliament's preparatory deputy group, with Oksana Syroyid as deputy, and Pavlo Pynzenyk as the secretary.[4] Two deputies, Vitali Klitschko, and Ihor Palytsia rejected their parliamentary mandates to remain in office as Mayor of Kiev and Governor of Odessa Oblast, respectfully.[5] Meanwhile, the parliament's preparatory deputy group adopted a resolution which accepted Nadiya Savchenko's handwritten letter stating that she accepted her parliamentary mandate. Savchenko is currently held captive by the Russian government, after being abducted during the pro-Russian unrest.[6]

A total of 27 constituencies were not elected due to various events taking place in the country. A total of 10 constituencies in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and two in the City of Sevastopol were not elected due to the 2014 Crimean crisis and subsequent annexation of Crimea by Russia, while a further nine constituencies in Donetsk Oblast and six constituencies in Luhansk Oblast were not elected due to the ongoing War in Donbass. Elections in these regions can only take place after the re-introduction of Ukrainian control over these territories.

Major legislation

Leadership

On November 27, 2014, the parliament elected Volodymyr Groysman from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc as the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.[13] The parliament's chairman, first deputy chairman, and deputy chairman are all unaffiliated people's deputies according to parliamentary procedure. Oksana Syroyid is the first woman to ever hold a deputy chairman position in the Verkhovna Rada.[14]

Volodymyr Groysman (from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc) is the current Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk (from the People's Front) was re-appointed as Prime Minister with 341 votes.
Office MP Vote Since Parliamentary affiliation
Chairman Volodymyr Groysman 359–0–3[13] November 27, 2014[15] Non-affiliated
First Deputy Chairman Andriy Parubiy 313–23–4[16] December 2, 2014[15]
Deputy Chairman Oksana Syroyid
Faction leader(s) Yuriy Lutsenko November 27, 2014 Petro Poroshenko Bloc
Oleksandr Turchynov People's Front
Yuriy Boyko Opposition Bloc
Oleh Bereziuk Self Reliance
Oleh Lyashko Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko
Yulia Tymoshenko All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland"
Group leader(s) Ihor Yeremeyev People's Will
Vitaliy Khomutynnik Revival

Members

Location of parliamentary factions in the 8th Verkhovna Rada:
  – Poroshenko Bloc
  – People's Front
  – Opposition Bloc		   – Self Reliance
  – Radical Party
  – People's Will		   – Fatherland
  – Revival
  – Unaffiliated

Since November 28, 2014, the 8th Verkhovna Rada consists of a total of 420 people's deputies, which belong to one of six political party factions, two parliamentary groups, or the 38 unaffiliated people's deputies.[17] For the first time in Ukrainian history, the Communist Party has failed to gain representation in the Verkhovna Rada.[18]

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR), which had 40 seats in the previous parliament's convocation, did not participate in the election independently. For the 2014 parliamentary election, UDAR merged their electoral lists with that of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, being allocated 30 percent of bloc's electoral list.[19]

A large portion of the 8th Verkhovna Rada are freshmen people's deputies who did not have any prior legislative service.[20] This convocation of parliament also has the largest representation of women in the Ukrainian parliament for the first time in history. While the women participation rate in parliament is lower than the 25.3 percent average of the OSCE member states,[21] 49 of the deputies in parliament are women (approximately 12 percent).[20]

Out of the newly elected deputies, 410 of them possess an academic degree; a further 144 deputies possess two or more such degrees.[20] Fifty-four deputies are currently candidates for doctoral sciences, while 27 of them already possess a doctoral degree.[20] The oldest member of parliament is the Opposition Bloc's Yukhym Zvyahilsky, who was elected from a constituency seat in northern Donetsk.

Parliamentary factions and deputy groups summary

(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total Vacant
Petro Poroshenko Bloc People's Front Opposition Bloc Self Reliance Radical Party Fatherland Revival[a 1] People's Will[a 2][a 3] Non-affiliated[a 4] DNP[a 7] DNP 1 86 41 35 93 445 5
Seats won in 2014 election[22] 132 82 29 33 22 19 DNP DNP 96 423 27
November 27, 2014
(first session)[27][25]		 145 83 40 32 19 20 38 418 32
December 2, 2014[28][25] 147 420 30
February 5, 2015[25] 150 82 31 21 18 42 422 28
June 24, 2015[25] 144 81 43 22 19 422 28
October 22, 2015[25] 142 26 20 48 422 28
February 13, 2016[25] 136 23 53 422 28
Latest voting share 32.2% 19.2% 10.2% 6.2% 5.0% 4.5% 5.5% 4.7% 12.6% 93.8% 6.2%
  1. ↑ Deputy groups (i.e. People's Will, Revival) consist of non-partisan deputies or representatives of parties that did not pass the 5% election threshold (i.e. Svoboda, Strong Ukraine, others).
  2. ↑ Deputy groups (i.e. People's Will, Revival) consist of non-partisan deputies or representatives of parties that did not overcome election threshold (i.e. Svoboda, Strong Ukraine, others).
  3. ↑ The People's Will deputy group in previous convocation was known as Sovereign European Ukraine.
  4. ↑ Parties that did not pass the 5% threshold of the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Svoboda (7 seats), Right Sector (1 seat), Strong Ukraine (1 seat), Volia (1 seat), and Zastup (1 seat) are part of non-affiliated.[22]</ref> la of its second session|ur End of previous convocation [ DNP[a 5]
  5. ↑ 30% of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc election list was filled by members of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR), which did not participate in the 2014 election independently. UDAR participated in the 2012 election, consisting of a faction of 41 deputies in the previous convocation.[23][24][25]</ref> s DNP[a 6]<ref name='People's Front is not so new'>Ukraine's united opposition discussing formation of single party, Kyiv Post (7 December 2012)(subscription required)
    Five factions, including Communist Party, registered in parliament, Kyiv Post (12 December 2012)(subscription required)
    Sobolev: Front for Change and Reform and Order Party to join Batkivschyna, Interfax-Ukraine (11 June 2013)
    Front for Change, Reforms and Order to dissolve for merger with Batkivshchyna - Sobolev, Ukrinform (11 June 2013)
    (Ukrainian) Sobolev heads "Batkivshchyna" in the Rada, Televiziyna Sluzhba Novyn (20 March 2014)
    "Turchynov is summoned for interrogation to SBU today – BYUT". UNIAN. 20 September 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
    "Batkivschyna to nominate Tymoshenko for presidency, Yatseniuk heads party's political council". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
    "BYT-Batkivschyna replaces its leader". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  6. ↑ People's Front is a September 2014 split off from Fatherland; many current members of the People's Front were members of the Fatherland faction of the previous convocation.<ref name='peoples_front'>(Ukrainian)Yatsenyuk became a leader of the "People's Front" political council, while Turchynov is a head of its headquarters. Ukrayinska Pravda. 10 September 2014
    Ukrainian PM, Parliament Speaker to Head Newly Formed Popular Front Party, RIA Novosti (10 September 2014)
  7. ↑ The Opposition Bloc consists mainly of former members of former President Yanukovych's Party of Regions,[26] which formed the largest caucus after the 2012 election with 185 deputies, although after the removal of Yanukovych and the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, the caucus consisted of only 78 members.

Coalition

On November 21, 2014, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, People's Front, Self Reliance, Fatherland, and Radical Party signed a coalition agreement.[29] The coalition consists of a total of 302 deputies, which is more than the constitutional majority required by the constitution. The coalition agreement prioritized on a number of key points, namely:[30][31]

Meanwhile, the parliamentary opposition consists of the Opposition Bloc faction, People's Will, and Revival. The Opposition Bloc represents politicians from the Party of Regions, which formed the Second Azarov Government and the majority caucus in parliament after the 2012 elections.

Committees

On December 4, 2014, the Verkhovna Rada approved the composition of its 27 committees and one special control commission.[32][33] On December 11, 2014, parliament voted in favor of recalling all of the deputies who voted for the January 16th "dictatorship laws" of the previous convocation from their positions in committee leadership. Deputy Chairman Oksana Syroyid proposed this measure, which was adopted with 264 votes in favor.[34]

Numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of deputies in each committee and the special control commission
  • Committee on construction, housing and communal services (11)
  • Committee on health (11)
  • Committee on freedom of speech and information policy (10)
  • Committee on foreign affairs (10)
  • Committee on industrial policy and entrepreneurship (10)
  • Committee on rules and organization of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (10)
  • Committee on information and communication (9)
  • Committee on veterans and the disabled (9)
  • Committee on human rights, national minorities, and international relations (8)
  • Committee on social policy, employment and pensions (8)
  • Committee on culture and spirituality (7)
  • Committee on science and education (7)
  • Committee on family, youth and sports (6)
  • Special Control Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on privatization (1)

Calls for reform

On December 11, 2014, the Yatsenyuk Government presented its course of action for the following year. It was proposed that the number of deputies in parliament be decreased to 150. According to estimates, adopting such a constitutional amendment would save ₴424 million annually (approx. US$26 million).[35] As part of a separate reform effort, the governing coalition proposed removing parliamentary immunity for deputies.

In the Verkhovna Rada, impersonal voting (referred to as button pushing, from the Ukrainian: "кнопкодавство") has been a serious problem in parliament for many years. The deputies of the current convocation to vote impersonally have already been recognized less than a week into parliament's first session.[36] Members of the nationalist Svoboda political party, which was elected into the parliament's previous convocation, proposed making deputies criminally liable for impersonal voting and banning them from holding any future parliamentary mandates.[37] Members from the coalition's Petro Poroshenko Bloc have also recognized the need to ban impersonal voting.[38][39]

References

  1. ↑ "Deputies are supposed to adopt the budget on 30 December" (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinska Pravda. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "The Rada confirmed the calendar plan of its second session" (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinska Pravda. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Information about the election results in multi-mandate constituencies" (in Ukrainian). Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Message". Official portal (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. November 19, 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Palytsia refused his deputy mandate" (in Russian). Korrespondent.net. November 27, 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Ukraine conflict: Russia charges pilot over deaths". BBC News. July 9, 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Ukrainian parliament appoints Yatseniuk prime minister". Interfax-Ukraine. November 27, 2014.
  8. ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 5-VIII: Про призначення Яценюка А.П. Прем’єр-міністром України (On the appointment of Yatsenyuk A.P. as the Prime Minister of Ukraine). Adopted on November 27, 2014. (Ukrainian)
  9. ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 9-VIII: Про формування складу Кабінету Міністрів України (On the formation of the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of Yatsenyuk). Adopted on December 2, 2014. (Ukrainian)
  10. ↑ "Rada abolished the neutral status of Ukraine" (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinska Pravda. December 23, 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  11. ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 43-VIII: Про внесення змін до Закону України "Про Раду національної безпеки і оборони України" щодо вдосконалення координації і контролю у сфері національної безпеки і оборони (On the amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine" for improving the coordination and control of national security and defense). Adopted on December 25, 2014. (Ukrainian)
  12. ↑ "Verkhovna Rada adopted the 2015 budget" (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinska Pravda. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  13. 1 2 Laws of Ukraine. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 4-VIII: Про Голову Верховної Ради України (On the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine). Adopted on November 27, 2014. (Ukrainian)
  14. ↑ "Oksana Syroyid was elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada" (in Ukrainian). Self Reliance. December 2, 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  15. 1 2 "Management of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine". Official portal (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  16. ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 21-VIII: Проект Постанови про обрання Першого заступника Голови Верховної Ради України та заступника Голови Верховної Ради України (Draft Resolution on the election of the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine). Adopted on December 4, 2014. (Ukrainian)
  17. ↑ "Deputy factions and groups of the VIII convocation". Official portal (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  18. ↑ Shuster, Simon. "Ukraine's Elections Mark a Historic Break With Russia and Its Soviet Past". TIME. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Pilots, battalion commanders, and journalists. Who belongs to the new Verkhovna Rada" (in Russian). Korrespondent.net. September 15, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Parliamentary coalition is created as an absolute constitutional majority" (in Russian). Segodnya. November 27, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Women in Parliaments: World and Regional Averages". Inter-Parliamentary Union. October 1, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  22. 1 2 Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament, Ukrinform (8 November 2014)
    People's Front 0.33% ahead of Poroshenko Bloc with all ballots counted in Ukraine elections - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
    Poroshenko Bloc to get 132 seats in parliament - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
  23. ↑ (Ukrainian) Block Poroshenko and kick off to the polls together, TVi (2 September 2014)
  24. ↑ After the parliamentary elections in Ukraine: a tough victory for the Party of Regions, Centre for Eastern Studies (7 November 2012)
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (Ukrainian) Депутатські фракції і групи VIII скликання Deputy fractions and Groups VIII convocation, Verkhovna Rada
  26. ↑ Grytsenko, Oksana (September 21, 2014). "Allies of Yanukovych trying for parliament". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  27. ↑ (Ukrainian) In Parliament created a faction, Ukrayinska Pravda (27 November 2014)
  28. ↑ (Ukrainian) Two more deputies entered the Poroshenko Bloc faction, Ukrayinska Pravda (2 December 2014)
  29. ↑ "Five political forces sign coalition agreement". Interfax-Ukraine. November 21, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Five parties publicly signed the coalition agreement" (in Ukrainian). BBC Ukraine. November 21, 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  31. ↑ Hankevych, Roman (November 21, 2014). "Five parties signed the coalition agreement at night" (in Ukrainian). Zahid.net. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  32. ↑ "Committees of the Verkhovna Rada of the VIII convocation". Official portal (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  33. ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 23-VIII: Про обрання голів, перших заступників, заступників голів, секретарів, членів комітетів Верховної Ради України восьмого скликання та обрання голови Спеціальної контрольної комісії Верховної Ради України з питань приватизації (On election of leaders, first vice-chairmen, secretaries, members of committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the eighth convocation and election of the Chairman of the Special Control Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the issue of Privatization). Adopted on December 4, 2014. (Ukrainian)
  34. ↑ "Rada removed those who voted for dictatorial laws of from committee leaderships" (in Russian). LB.ua. December 11, 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  35. ↑ "The Government is preparing a radical "belt-tightening"" (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinska Pravda. December 11, 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  36. ↑ "In the new Rada, the first "button pushers" were caught" (in Ukrainian). Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (Mirror Weekly). December 2, 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  37. ↑ "Deputies-button pushers should give up their mandates--"Svoboda"" (in Ukrainian). Vholos - Lviv. December 4, 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  38. ↑ "In BPP, it is proposed to remove mandates from button pushers" (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinska Pravda. December 3, 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  39. ↑ "Draft law on the recall of People's Deputies of Ukraine". Official portal (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada. November 27, 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.

External links

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