Verkhovna Rada

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Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox legislature

The Verkhovna Rada (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; Template:Abbr VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,Template:Efn is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

The Verkhovna Rada developed out of the systems of the republican representative body known in the Soviet Union as the Supreme Soviet (Supreme Council), which was first established on 26 June 1938 as a type of legislature of the Ukrainian SSR after the dissolution of the Congress of Soviets of the Ukrainian SSR.<ref name="history">Verkhovna Rada in the Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine</ref>

The 12th convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (elected in 1990) issued the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine,<ref name=history/> introduced elements of a market economy and political liberalization, and officially changed the numeration of its sessions,<ref name=history/> proclaiming itself the first convocation of the "Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine".<ref name=history/> The current parliament is the ninth convocation. Because of the war in Donbas and Russia's unilateral occupation and annexation of Crimea, elections for the constituencies situated in Donbas and Crimea were not held in the 2014 and 2019 elections; hence the current composition of the Verkhovna Rada consists of 424 deputies.<ref name=27sIU2510/><ref name=BBCtsP25814/><ref name="Runners and risks"/>

The Verkhovna Rada previously used a mixed voting system, in which 50% of the seats were distributed under party-list proportional representation with 5% election threshold and the other 50% through first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.<ref name="newUKRelectionlawof171111IFU">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="newUKRelectionlawof171111">Parliament passes law on parliamentary elections, Kyiv Post (17 November 2011)</ref> The 50/50 mixed elections method was used in the 2002, 2012, 2014, and 2019 elections; however, in 2006 and 2007, the elections were held under a proportional system only.<ref name="backtopast">Ukrainian communists to seek return to proportional electoral system Template:Webarchive, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2012)</ref> According to the election law that became valid on 1 January 2020, the next election to the Verkhovna Rada, expected to be held after the Russian invasion of Ukraine ends, will be held under a proportional system.<ref name="633561ElectoralCodeVR"/>

Name

The name Rada (Template:Langx) means "council". The institution originated in the time of Kievan Rus' and then represented a council of boyars and of the higher clergy.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>Template:Original research inline In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Zaporozhian Cossacks used the term to refer to the meetings where major decisions were made; the Cossacks elected new councils by popular vote.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The Ukrainian People's Republic, between 17 March 1917 and 29 April 1918, had a Central Rada.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The West Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian government-in-exile each had a UNRada (Ukrainian National Rada).

The current name of the parliament derives from the Soviet practice of referring to the national parliament and parliaments of its constituent republics' Supreme Soviets (Template:Langx). Like in many other Soviet republics, Verkhovna Rada is a localized version of this term used in the Ukrainian SSR. After Ukraine regained independence in 1991, the term Verkhovnaya Rada (Template:Langx) had been in use in both Russian and Ukrainian-based russophone media as a loan translation of the Ukrainian term. Verkhovna, the feminine form of the adjective Template:Lang meaning supreme, derives from the Ukrainian word Template:Lang meaning "top".

Another name, less commonly used, is the Parliament of Ukraine (Template:Langx).

History

1917–1990

  • Central Rada in 1917–18
  • Ukrainian National Rada in 1918 (West Ukraine)
  • Labour Congress of Ukraine in 1919 (along with West Ukrainian delegates)
  • Rada of the Republic in 1921 (exiled in Tarnów, Poland)<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Template:See also The Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic replaced the All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets and was a type of legislative authority of Soviet Ukraine according to the 1937 Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR. The All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets had already been renamed the Supreme Council in 1927.<ref>Serhy Yekelchyk '"Ukraine: Birth of a Modern Nation, Oxford University Press (2007), Template:ISBN, page 89</ref> The Congress of Soviets was initiated by its Central Executive Committee, which it elected and held accountable. The last chairman of the committee was Hryhoriy Petrovsky (also known as Grigoriy Petrovskiy in Russian transliteration).

The first 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 to 28 July 1938. The first chairman of the council was Mykhailo Burmystenko, who later died during World War II. In 1938, a Presidium was elected by the council that was chaired by Leonid Korniyets. The Presidium represented the council whenever it was not in session.

During the war, the Presidium was evacuated to the city of Saratov in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. 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, the Council 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.

Yulia Tymoshenko was appointed Prime Minister of Ukraine in the Rada on 4 February 2005.

1990–present

Until 24 August 1991, the Verkhovna Rada kept the name Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR.<ref name=history/>

The first partially free elections to the Verkhovna Rada and local councils of people's deputies were held on 4 March 1990.<ref name=history/><ref name="subtelny">Template:Cite book</ref> Although the Communist Party still remained in control, a "Democratic Bloc" was formed by numerous parties, including the People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh), Helsinki Watch Committee of Ukraine, Party of Greens of Ukraine, and many others.<ref name="subtelny"/>

The twelfth convocation of the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR issued the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine on 16 July 1990, and declared Ukrainian independence on 24 August 1991, at approximately 6 p.m. local time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the time, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada was Leonid Kravchuk. The Act of Ukrainian Independence was overwhelmingly supported in a national referendum held on 1 December 1991. On 12 September 1991, the parliament adopted the law "On the Legal Succession of Ukraine".<ref name="zakon2.rada.gov.ua"/> Thus, the VR became the Supreme Council of Ukraine.

The Constitution of Ukraine<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 the third (democratic and independent) convocation of the Verkhovna Rada.<ref>Template:Cite Ukrainian law</ref> After the Orange Revolution, constitutional amendments were adopted in December 2004,<ref>Template:Cite Ukrainian law</ref> by the fourth (fifteenth) convocation of the Verkhovna Rada. On 1 October 2010, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine overturned the 2004 Amendments, considering them unconstitutional.<ref>Update: Return to 1996 Constitution strengthens president, raises legal questions, Kyiv Post (1 October 2010)</ref><ref name="FINANCIAL">Template:Cite news</ref> On 21 February 2014, parliament reinstated the December 2004 amendments to the constitution.<ref name="bt2004UCIU21214">Ukrainian parliament reinstates 2004 Constitution, Interfax-Ukraine (21 February 2014)</ref>

In 2017 and 2018, the website of the Verkhovna Rada was the most popular among all websites of the parliaments of UN member states.<ref name="gsfh544er7425894"/>

In 2025, the Rada resumed live broadcasts of parliamentary sessions following a three-year ban it imposed due to security reasons following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Location

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The Verkhovna Rada meets in a neo-classical building within Constitution Square on Mykhaila Hrushevsky Street, Kyiv. The building adjoins Mariinskyi Park and the 18th-century Mariinskyi Palace, the official residence of the President of Ukraine.

After the transfer of the capital of the Ukrainian SSR from Kharkiv to Kyiv in 1934, several government buildings were planned for the city.<ref name="observer">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1936, a contest for the construction of the parliament building was won by architect Volodymyr Zabolotny.

The original building was constructed from 1936 to 1938. Destroyed in the Second World War, the building was reconstructed from 1945 to 1947. The rebuilt glass dome is one metre higher than the original.<ref name="observer"/>

Other locations

Mission and authority

Template:Politics of Ukraine {{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

The Verkhovna Rada is the sole body of legislative power in Ukraine. The parliament determines the principles of domestic and foreign policy, introduces amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, adopts laws, approves the state budget, designates elections for the President of Ukraine, impeaches the president, declares war and peace, appoints the Prime Minister of Ukraine, appoints or confirms certain officials, appoints one-third of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, ratifies and denounces international treaties, and exercises certain control functions.<ref name="c-85">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="Chesnopost5807">Template:In lang A record number of people's deputies remained in the Council. What's next?, Civil movement "Chesno" (8 December 2023)</ref>

In Ukraine there are no requirements for the minimum number of signatures (of deputies) to register a bill.<ref name="7095011 Legislativespam"/> In general the parliament adopts about 200 bills per year.<ref name="7095011 Legislativespam">Template:Cite web</ref> An average of five to six bills are registered daily in parliament.<ref name="7095011 Legislativespam"/> 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.<ref name="7095011 Legislativespam"/>

All procedural regulations are contained in the Law on Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.<ref>(Official document) Law of Ukraine on Regulations of the Supreme Council of Ukraine</ref> The latest version of the document was adopted on 16 December 2012, in which through the initiative of the President of Ukraine amendments were made concerning registration and voting by parliamentarians.<ref>(Official document) Law of Ukraine on introducing changes to Regulations of the Supreme Council of Ukraine</ref> 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 officially promulgated.<ref>The interns of the Program of Internship at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and Central Executive Bodies for 2012–2013 learned the procedure of submission and passage of bills in the Verkhovna Rada Template:Webarchive, Verkhovna Rada (14 December 2012)
Ukraine: Energy Policy Review 2006, International Energy Agency, 24 October 2006, Template:ISBN (page 130)</ref>

Until 2017 the parliament appointed and dismissed judges from their posts and permitted detention or arrest of judges (those powers were transferred to the High Council of Justice).<ref>Poroshenko signs law on High Council of Justice, Interfax-Ukraine (3 January 2017)
President signs law on High Council of Justice – MP Yemets, Ukrinform (29 December 2016)
Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine passed: Ukraine takes a major step towards a European System of Justice, Lexology (9 June 2016)</ref>

Composition

The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral legislature with 450 people's deputies (Template:Langx) elected on the basis of equal and direct universal suffrage through a secret ballot.

Parliamentary factions, groups, and parties

Template:See also 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.<ref>Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=FINANCIAL/><ref name="1996rulesagain">Rada amends regulations of its activities, Kyiv Post (8 October 2010)</ref> Under current parliamentary rules a faction of non-partisan politicians can not be smaller than the smallest faction of a political party.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name=FINANCIAL/><ref name=1996rulesagain/> Several influential parties have been founded after originally being formed as a faction in the Verkhovna Rada, for example, the Party of Regions, All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" and Labour Ukraine.<ref>Explaining State Capture and State Capture Modes Template:Webarchive by Oleksiy Omelyanchuk, Central European University, 2001 (page 22)</ref><ref>2001 Political sketches: too early for summing up Template:Webarchive, Central European University (4 January 2002)</ref><ref>State Building in Ukraine: The Ukrainian Parliament, 1990–2003 by Sarah Whitmore, Routledge, 2004, Template:ISBN, page 106</ref><ref name="Motherland">Revolution in Orange: The Origins of Ukraine's Democratic Breakthrough by Anders Aslund and Michael A. McFaul, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2006, Template:ISBN</ref>

Each parliamentary faction or group appoints a leader.

Since the Imperative mandate provisions of the Ukrainian 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.<ref>Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web</ref> MPs who defected from one faction to another were derided as "tushky" (carcass).<ref name=KPtushky/><ref>тушки, Google Translate</ref> The insult was applied to MPs allegedly bribed to switch factions.<ref name="KPtushky">"Young people show Yanukovych 'red card'", Kyiv Post (27 February 2012)</ref>

Parliament is primarily male. Women accounted for 8.5% of MPs in 2010,<ref>Topless protesters gain fame in UkraineTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore, The Washington Post (19 November 2010)</ref> 10% after the 2012 parliamentary election<ref>Too few women in the Ukrainian parliament, Kyiv Post (14 December 2012)</ref> and 11.1% after the 2014 parliamentary election, the highest in history.<ref name="RUefW14UP">Template:Cite web</ref> Conversely, female representation in national legislatures within the EU was 25% as of 2014.<ref name="RUefW14UP" /> Female representation rose considerably after the 2019 elections, achieving a 21% female Rada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 20 March 2022, the activities of the main opposition party, Opposition Platform — For Life were suspended by the National Security and Defense Council for the period of martial law due to allegations of having ties to Russia made by the Council during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Biggest parliamentary factions

Members of Parliament

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Template:For 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",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 at health spas.<ref name=RU/><ref>Future generations in debt, Kyiv Post (24 September 2009)</ref> Each deputy is allowed to have up to 31 assistant-consultants, four of which may be admitted into the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Until 2019, the Ukrainian President, Prime Minister, members of the government and deputies all had parliamentary immunity<ref name="RFL">Official Immunity Turns Into Campaign Issue In Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (16 August 2007)</ref> and agents of law enforcement were prohibited from searching their homes or following them.<ref name="KP">Case of fugitive ex-deputy, a murder suspect, heats up immunity debate, Kyiv Post (9 July 2009)</ref> During the Orange Revolution<ref name=KP/> and the campaign for the 2007 parliamentary election Party of Regions, OU-PSD and BYuT all promised to strip lawmakers of parliamentary immunity.<ref name=RFL/> In June 2008 the parliament failed to adopt the Bill 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.<ref name="RU">Verkhovna Rada failed to adopt bill on restriction of privileges for deputies and introduction of imperative mandate Template:Webarchive, National Radio Company of Ukraine (18 June 2008)</ref> In May 2009 the second Tymoshenko Government approved a bill amending the Law on the status of a people's deputy of Ukraine, which reduced the privileges of incumbent and former deputies.<ref>Government suggests canceling certain privileges for Memebres of the Parliament, Kyiv Post (27 May 2009)</ref> The parliament canceled some benefits and payments to lawmakers in December 2011.<ref>Lawmakers cancel some benefits, Kyiv Post (26 December 2011)</ref>

A PD's absence from the Rada may be punished by withholding their salary.<ref>Ukrainian lawmakers fall short of half a million dollars in salaries in Jan–Sept for being absent, Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (9 November 2018)</ref>

In December 2019, PDs lost most aspects of parliamentary immunity, with the exception of statements and votes conducted in parliament or its bodies .<ref name="10799630-bill">Template:Cite web</ref>

Several local millionaires have been members of the Rada.<ref>#50 Richest: Tariel Vasadze, 63, Kyiv Post (17 December 2010)</ref><ref>#40 Richest: Serhiy and Oleksandr Buryak, 44 and 40, Kyiv Post (17 December 2010)</ref><ref>#43 Richest: Oleksandr Feldman, 50, Kyiv Post (17 December 2010)</ref><ref>#26 Richest: Yevhen Sihal, 55, Kyiv Post (17 December 2010)</ref><ref>Kostyantin Valentynovych Zhevago, Bloomberg L.P. (2009)</ref><ref name="#11 Richest: Andriy Verevsky, 36">#11 Richest: Andriy Verevsky, 36, Kyiv Post (17 December 2010)</ref><ref name="notthere">#5 Richest: Kostyantyn Zhevago, 36, Kyiv Post (17 December 2010)</ref><ref>#19 Richest: Mykola Yankovsky, 66, Kyiv Post (17 December 2010)</ref><ref>#24 Richest: Heorhiy Skudar, 68, Kyiv Post (17 December 2010)</ref><ref>#29 Richest: Oleksandr Slobodyan, 54, Kyiv Post (17 December 2010)</ref>

In early 2020, the Servant of the People party announced plans to reduce the number of deputies from 450 to 300.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> A vote garnered 236 votes in favor, 40 against, and 86 abstentions.<ref name=":0" />

Oath of office

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: Template:Cquote

English translation: Template:Cquote

Other offices

Chairman and deputy chairmen

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The Verkhovna Rada elects from among its ranks a Chairman (Speaker; Template:Langx), a First Deputy Chairman, and a Second Deputy Chairman.<ref name="Rada Leaders offi site">Leaders of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Official website of the Verkhovna Rada.</ref>

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 (Template:Langx). 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.

Chairman duties include presiding over parliamentary sessions, signing bills and parliamentary acts before sending them to the President for promulgation, and organising staff work.<ref name="c-88">Template:Cite web</ref> The chairman is empowered to call special sessions of parliament,<ref name="c-83">Template:Cite web</ref> enact bills vetoed by the President should the Rada vote to overturn the veto by a two-thirds majority, and participate in meetings of the National Security and Defence Council.<ref name="c-107">Template:Cite web</ref>

Should the office of President of Ukraine become vacant, the chairman becomes the acting head of state, though with limited authority.<ref name="c-112">Template:Cite web</ref> 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 of pardon.<ref name="c-112"/> There are no codified constitutional or legal instructions for succession if there is simultaneously no President or chairman.

Presidium

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The Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada is a collective name adapted for the chairman and their deputies out of tradition. Before the collapse 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 1978 Constitution 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since the adoption of the Ukrainian 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.

Office of the Verkhovna Rada

Logo of the Verkhovna Rada used before 2020

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 the Constitution of Ukraine, the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada, election results from the Central Election Commission, the Law of Ukraine on the Status of People's Deputies, and others. This is required by Article 12 of the Regulations.

Office of the Ombudsman

The Office of the Ombudsman was established in 1998 and led by Nina Karpachova until 2012. The Office of the Ombudsman has its own secretariat and advisory council. The current Ombudsman is Lyudmyla Denisova, who replaced Valeriya Lutkovska in 2017.

Committees

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The Rada establishes parliamentary committees.<ref name="Commitees1212">Rada approves composition of all committees, Kyiv Post (25 December 2012)</ref> On 4 December 2014, parliament formed 27 committees and 2 special control commissions.<ref>Rada sets up 27 committees, 2 special control commissions, Interfax-Ukraine (4 December 2014)</ref> The previous parliament (2012–2014) had 29 committees and an ad hoc supervisory board.<ref name=Commitees1212/> 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 or standing committees, though committees from previous convocations may be re-formed. Among the most important is the Budget Committee.

Investigative commissions

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.

Mass media

Incidents in parliament

Template:See alsoTemplate:Update section

Fights and incidents

Brawls are not unusual in the Rada.<ref>Verkhovna Rada fight, UNIAN photo-service
Keywords: fight Template:Webarchive, UNIAN photo-service
Ukraine coalition born in chaos, BBC News (11 July 2006)
Template:In lang Рейтинг бійок у Верховній Раді [репортаж, відео] Template:Webarchive, 5 Kanal (20 December 2010)
Lyashko fought with Martynyuk in VRU (video), UNIAN (19 May 2011)
Video of first brawl in Verkhovna Rada becomes a YouTube hit, Kyiv Post (5 December 2014)</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="gsfh544er7425894">Template:In lang 2018 WHAT THEY HAVE BUILT, Civil movement "Chesno" (29 December 2018)</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On several occasions work in parliament is blocked by sit-ins by various parties (usually for a couple of days; but in 2008 from 18 January till 6 March<ref>Template:In lang Рекорд з блокування Ради становить 29 днів The record for blocking the Rada is 29 days, The Ukrainian Week (19 February 2013)</ref> and in February 2013 for 17 days<ref>Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web</ref>).<ref name="whunt">MPs hurt in parliament brawlTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore, BBC News (17 December 2010)</ref><ref>Template:Cite news
Template:Cite news
Template:Cite news
Template:Cite news
ELECTION OF NEW PRIME MINISTER AND GOVERNMENT Template:Webarchive, European Country of Origin Information Network (August 2006)
Regions Party deputies block parliament's rostrum and presidium, Kyiv Post (9 December 2011)
Ukrainian lawmakers fail to hold parliament meeting on 24 February, Kyiv Post (24 February 2012)
Batkivschyna again blocks parliament's work, Interfax-Ukraine (5 March 2013)</ref> In 2000 and on 4 April 2013 the parliament split into two and held two sessions on two different premises.<ref name="GPVRin24413">Ukraine parliament moves building amid opposition blockade Template:Webarchive, GlobalPost (4 April 2013)</ref>

A noticeable incident was the disorder of 27 April 2010, after the parliament ratified a treaty that extended the Russian Black Sea Fleet lease in the Crimean port of Sevastopol until 2042, when Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn had to be shielded with umbrellas as he was pelted with eggs, while smoke bombs exploded and politicians brawled.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another major incident occurred on 16 December 2010 when several Rada members were admitted to hospital after Party of Regions politicians stormed the parliament podium, which was occupied by the Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko faction.<ref name=whunt/><ref>Fierce fight in Ukraine parliament injures 6 Template:Webarchive, Associated Press (17 December 2010)</ref><ref>Ukraine opposition mourns democracy after MP brawl, Kyiv Post (18 December 2010)</ref>

On 12 December 2012, an all-out scuffle broke out in Parliament, as Batkivshchyna party members attempted to prevent the swearing in of two members who had left the party during<ref name=scuffle121212/> the body's first session following the October 2012 election.<ref name="scuffle121212">"Fear and loathing in Ukraine's new parliament", Kyiv Post (12 December 2012)
Video of the December 2012 brawl in Parliament, Le Monde
New Ukraine parliament packs punches – literally – in first session, CNN (13 December 2012)</ref> The same day members of the All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda" removed the fence around the Verkhovna Rada<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> that was installed early October 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The speaker of the parliament Volodymyr Rybak promised to review the incident of the fence removal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The fence is not accounted as the property of parliament nor the city of Kyiv. Rybak noted that the matter might require a review within a special designated committee.

From the parliamentary election of 28 October 2012 till the first months of 2013 parliamentary work was virtually paralyzed because the opposition (UDAR, Fatherland, Svoboda, others) blocked the podium and chairman's seat on various days.<ref name="VRvirtuallyparalyzedazdailysun2213">Ukraine parliament session seized by ruling party, Arizona Daily Sun (4 April 2013)
Study: MPs off for 53 days in first hundred days of current parliament, Interfax-Ukraine (22 March 2013)
Opposition stops blocking parliament, plenary sitting begins, Interfax-Ukraine (19 March 2013)
Opposition blocks speaker's rostrum, puts forward three demands Template:Webarchive, Ukrinform (3 April 2013)
Opposition lawmakers block rostrum and presidium of VRU, UNIAN (3 April 2013)</ref>

International relations

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Ukraine was accepted as a full member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in 1995.

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.

Elections

Template:See also

A woman with the ballot during the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election

The parliamentary electoral system has repeatedly changed. Each convocation 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 purely proportional scheme effective from 2006 until 2010. The next election<ref name="chesno.org/post/3402EFGH">Template:In lang Early to rejoice? Regular parliamentary elections may take place under Yanukovych's law, Civil movement "Chesno" (11 July 2019)</ref> will be held under such a proportional scheme.<ref name="633561ElectoralCodeVR"/>

In the 1990 and 1994 elections, all 450 MPs were elected in single-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 the 1998 and 2002 elections,<ref name=backtopast/> 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 a proportional basis. These seats were divided between parties who passed a 4% electoral threshold.

Unlike previous elections, the 2006 and 2007 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 the 2007 election, the threshold percentage was not changed, but some amendments to the election process were made. In the 2012, 2014 and 2019 elections<ref name="dateset">Parliament mulls 3 Feb vote to amend Constitution, Kyiv Post (31 January 2011)
Parliament sets parliamentary elections for October 2012, presidential elections for March 2015, Kyiv Post (1 February 2011)
Ukraine sets parliamentary vote for October 2012, Kyiv Post (1 February 2011)
Early parliamentary elections may take place in May – Ukraine's Yanukovych Template:Webarchive, RIA Novosti (25 January 2010)</ref> a mixed voting system was again used (50% under party lists and 50% under simple-majority constituencies)<ref name=newUKRelectionlawof171111IFU/> with a 5% election threshold.<ref name="newUKRelectionlawof171111"/>

Ordinarily, elections would have occurred in 2023.<ref name="chesno.org/post/3402EFGH"/><ref name="633561ElectoralCodeVR"/><ref name=newUKRelectionlawof171111/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The imposition of martial law in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has indefinitely postponed elections, as the Ukrainian constitution prohibits holding elections while under martial law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 with open regional lists of candidates.<ref name="633561ElectoralCodeVR">Electoral Code becomes effective in Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine (1 January 2010)</ref>

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