7th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada

The 7th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian: Верховна Рада України VII скликання) was a session of the legislative branch of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament. Its composition was based on the results of the 2012 parliamentary election. Half of the seats in the parliament were apportioned between the five winning parties based on the popular vote, while the other half was apportioned between 4 parties and 44 independents between 225 constituencies throughout the country. It first met in the capital Kyiv on December 12, 2012, and ended its session on November 27, 2014, after the 8th Verkhovna Rada began its first session.

Ukraine Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
of the 7th convocation
←6th Verkhovna Rada 8th Verkhovna Rada→
Seat composition on February 26, 2014.
Overview
Meeting placeVerkhovna Rada building
Term12 December 2012 (2012-12-12) – 27 November 2014 (2014-11-27)
Election2012 parliamentary election
(repeat elections in single mandate
constituencies on December 15, 2013)
Government29 committees
Websiteiportal.rada.gov.ua
Members
446 / 450
(on November 1, 2014)
ChairmanOleksandr Turchynov
(from February 22, 2014; Fatherland)
First DeputyVacant (from February 22, 2014)
DeputyRuslan Koshulynskyi
(from December 12, 2012; Svoboda)
Party controlCoalition (from February 27, 2014)

Parliamentary work was virtually paralyzed the first months of 2013 because the opposition (UDAR, Fatherland, Freedom, others) blocked the podium and presidium seats on various days.[1] According to a study conducted by Opora, deputies did not work for 53 days during the first hundred days in the 7th convocation.[2]

Major events

December 2012 – February 2013

March 2013-April 2013
  • March 5, 2013. The Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine stripped Andrey Verevskiy (Party of Regions) of his seat in parliament because he simultaneously was parliamentary deputy and headed a commercial entity.[7]
  • March 5, 2013. Members of Fatherland blocked the podium (tribune) and presidium seats in the protest of Chairman Rybak's inquiry to the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine on depriving Serhiy Vlasenko (Fatherland) of his seat in parliament.[8] Parliament was unblocked on 19 March 2013.[9]
  • March 6, 2013. The Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine stripped Serhiy Vlasenko (Fatherland) of his seat in parliament because he practiced advocacy and was a people's deputy at the same time.[10]
  • March 19, 2013. Party of Regions parliamentary leader Oleksandr Yefremov accused deputies from Svoboda of being neo-fascists after they booed a speech he made in Russian, which provoked a physical altercation to erupt between the two sides.[11][12]
  • March 29, 2013. Party of Regions members started to gather signatures for dismissal of Ruslan Koshulynsky from the position of parliamentary vice-speaker.[13] According to one of the Party of Regions members, Inna Bohoslovska it is done due to the fact that Svoboda is a neo-fascist party.[14]
  • April 3, 2013. Parliamentary session did not start as the "opposition" (UDAR, Fatherland, Freedom, others) blocked the podium (tribune) and presidium seats; they had three demands:[15]
  1. Calling mayoral elections in Kyiv
  2. Repealing pension reform
  3. Considering the resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
  • April 4, 2013. With the blocking the podium (tribune) and presidium seats continuing pro-government legislators left the official parliament hall and voted to approve to routine pieces of legislation in a nearby building (6-8 vulytsia Bankova); according to them (chairman of parliamentary regulations committee and participants of the Bankova meeting) "the sitting of the parliament could be held in another place if legislators want".[1][16] Party of Regions stated 244 deputies (in the 450-seat parliament) supported the move, but the opposition insists that number was 182.[17] The last time the parliament split into two and held two sessions on two different premises was in 2000.[17] One of the opposition leaders Oleh Tyahnybok pointed out to the fact that the decision to conduct a session beyond the premises of Verkhovna Rada building should be first adopted in the parliament building, citing the parliamentary regulations.[18] Opposition also claimed that none of its representatives were allowed to attend the session at Bankova.[17][18][19]
  • April 4, 2013. Batkivschyna legislators Oleh Kanivets, Vitaliy Nemylostyvy, Roman Stadniychuk and Ihor Skosar wrote statements to Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Rybak with an applications to withdraw from the Batkivschyna faction.[20] Later that day (only) Nemylostyvy and Stadniychuk confirm this while Kanivets and Skosar insisted that they are still the members of the Batkivschyna faction the press service of Batkivschyna party reported.[20][21] Again later that day Kanivets and Skosar released a manifesto statement they did made "the only possible decision – to leave the ranks of the faction" because (Batkivschyna faction leader)[22][23] Arseniy Yatsenyuk "is leading to an intraparty split and is a politically corrupt man, who dreams of becoming a national leader."[24]
  • April 5, 2013. Parliament did not start its session, as it was still blocked; the next plenary session of the parliament is scheduled for April 16.[25]
  • April 11, 2013. Leaders of opposition factions, Yatsenyuk (Fatherland), Vitali Klitschko (UDAR) and Oleh Tyahnybok (Freedom) are due to appear in the Holosiyivsky District Court of Kyiv under a lawsuit filed by citizen Vira Ivanova due to the blocking of the Verkhovna Rada.[26]

June 2013 – September 2013
  • June 6, 2013. The opposition blocked the parliaments presidium seats until President Viktor Yanukovych reports his annual address to parliament personally in parliament (he had sent a written report).[27]
  • July 7, 2013. Pavlo Baloha and Oleksandr Dombrovsky mandates were officially cancelled.[28]
  • September 3, 2013 (opening session of the Verkhovna Rada after the summer recess[29]). President Yanukovych urged parliament to adopt laws so that Ukraine will meet the European Union (EU) criteria so Ukraine and the EU can formally sign an Association Agreement in November 2013.[29]
  • September 5, 2013. The Verkhovna Rada itself set the date of the 7 re-elections to 15 December 2013.[30]
  • September 12, 2013. The Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine deprived Rodina Party member Ihor Markov (at the time a member of the Party of Regions parliamentary faction) of his deputy seats.[31] The Court had established that the results in single-member districts number 133 (Odesa)[32] had been "unreliable".[31]

Leadership
Oleh Tyahnybok (standing), Oleksandr Turchynov (left) and Ruslan Koshulynskyi (right) in parliament on February 24, 2014.

The parliament's chairman, first deputy, and deputy are all unaffiliated people's deputies according to parliamentary procedure.

Office MP Vote Term Party
Chairman Volodymyr Rybak 250–79–1[33] Dec. 13, 2012–Feb. 22, 2014 Party of Regions
Oleksandr Turchynov 288–0–5[34] Feb. 22, 2014–Nov. 27, 2014[35] Fatherland
First Deputy Chairman Ihor Kalietnik 241–100–0[36] Dec. 13, 2012–Feb. 22, 2014 Communist Party of Ukraine
Vacant Feb. 22, 2014–Nov. 27, 2014[37] Vacant
Deputy Chairman Ruslan Koshulynskyi 305–6–3[38] Dec. 13, 2012–Nov. 27, 2014[39] Svoboda
Faction and group leaders Oleksandr Yefremov Party of Regions
Arseniy Yatsenyuk Fatherland
Vitali Klitschko UDAR
Oleh Tyahnybok Svoboda
Petro Symonenko Communist Party of Ukraine
Yulia Tymoshenko Fatherland
Anatoliy Kinakh Economic Development
Ihor Yeremeyev Sovereign European Ukraine
Vitaly Hrushevskyi For Peace and Stability

Members
Main article: List of members of the 7th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada

Single-mandate constituencies

Changes in membership

On 18 March 2013, the Central Election Commission of Ukraine registered Roman Stadniychuk of Batkivschyna and Oleksandr Kozub of Party of Regions as people's deputies in place of Andrey Verevskiy and Serhiy Vlasenko.[40]

In June 2013 people's deputies of Batkivschyna claimed they had been offered bribes of $2 million to $6 million for leaving the parties parliamentary faction, becoming member of the Party of Regions faction or for voting for legislation proposed by it.[41]

Parliamentary factions and deputy groups summary
Location of parliamentary factions in the 7th Verkhovna Rada on July 1, 2014:
  – 95 Non-affiliated
  – 86 Fatherland
  – 78 Party of Regions		   – 41 UDAR
  – 40 Economic Development
  – 36 Freedom		   – 35 Sovereign European Ukraine
  – 34 For Peace and Stability
Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total Vacant
Party of Regions Batkivshchyna UDAR Svoboda Communists Economic Development Sovereign European Ukraine For Peace and Stability Non-affiliated
End of previous convocation[42][43] 195 97 DNP DNP 25 DNP DNP DNP 31 348 102
Begin[44] 185 101 40 37 32 - - - 43 438 12
December 12, 2012[42] 208 99 42 36 27 444 6
June 11, 2013[42] 207 93 34
December 31, 2013[42] 204 90 38 442 8
February 21, 2014[45] 177 55
February 22, 2014[42][46] 134 88 115 447 3
February 23, 2014[42] 131 118
February 24, 2014[42] 128 123 449 1
February 25, 2014[42] 127 33 91
February 27, 2014[42] 122 32 37 60
February 28, 2014[42] 36 36 57
March 4, 2014[42] 119 87 33 60 445 5
March 15, 2014[42] 120 88 35 37 58 448 2
March 18, 2014[42] 82 41 33 439 11
March 25, 2014[42] 88 35 447 3
April 8, 2014[42] 109 34 33 38 68 446 4
April 10, 2014[42] 108 35 70 449 1
April 11, 2014[42] 106 42 37 71 448 2
April 20, 2014[42] 104 41 72 446 4
May 16, 2014[42] 103 39 35 73 447 3
May 29, 2014[42] 87 31 40 74 446 4
June 6, 2014[42] 80 85 40 32 95 442 8
July 1, 2014[42] 86 41 24 104 445 5
July 2, 2014[42] 32 73
July 4, 2014[42] 78 23 34
July 24, 2014[42] - 41 95
July 25, 2014[42] 35 36 93
Latest voting share 17.5% 19.3% 9.2% 7.9% 0.0% 9.2% 7.9% 8.1% 20.9%
Note: The parties United Centre (3 seats), People's Party (2 seats), Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko (1 seat) and Union (1 seat) did not form their own faction. Their deputies did not join any faction besides 1 deputy of People's Party who became a member of the Party of Regions faction in December 2012[42] and Union's deputy joined the then newly created faction For Peace and Stability on 2 July 2014.[47][48]

The Communist Party of Ukraine faction was dissolved 24 July 2014 two days after parliament had changed its regulations.[49]

The ruling majority (225+ votes) is "situational" and officially consists of Party of Regions and most unaffiliated members. Communists are officially in opposition to everyone[50] but its parliamentary faction usually votes exactly the same as the Party of Regions parliamentary faction.[51] The parliamentary opposition includes UDAR, Fatherland and Freedom and other unaffiliated members.[52]

See also

References
  1. Ukraine parliament session seized by ruling party, Arizona Daily Sun (4 April 2013)
  2. Study: MPs off for 53 days in first hundred days of current parliament, Interfax-Ukraine (22 March 2013)
  3. (in Ukrainian) Interview of Rybak by the parliamentary television (РИБАК СКАЗАВ, ЩО РАДА ЗАПРАЦЮЄ 19 ЛЮТОГО). Ukrayinska Pravda. 2013-2-6
    Klitschko: Opposition won't unblock parliamentary rostrum until its demands are satisfied, Kyiv Post (6 February 2013)
    UDAR MPs spend night at parliament, still blocking presidium and rostrum, Kyiv Post (6 February 2013)
    Oppositionists block work of parliament, demand individual voting, Kyiv Post (5 February 2013)
  4. Parliament unblocked after Yanukovych televised claim (UPDATED), Kyiv Post (22 February 2013)
    THE SECOND SESSION OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE OF THE SEVENTH CONVOCATION HAS OPENED, Verkhovna Rada (22 February 2013)
  5. Higher Administrative Court deprives two MPs of deputy seats, Kyiv Post (9 February 2013)
    (in Ukrainian) ВИЩИЙ СУД ПОЗБАВИВ МАНДАТІВ ДВОХ ДЕПУТАТІВ Superior Court denied MANDATES two deputies, Ukrayinska Pravda (8 February 2013)
  6. (in Ukrainian) В опозиції ініціюють звільнення суддів ВАСУ The opposition initiated dismissal Vasu, Den (11 February 2013)
  7. Court terminates deputy authorities of Party of Regions MP Verevsky, Ukrainian Television and Radio (5 March 2013)
    Court strips lawmaker Verevsky of his seat in parliament, Kyiv Post (5 March 2013)
  8. Batkivschyna again blocks parliament's work, Interfax-Ukraine (5 March 2013)
  9. Opposition stops blocking parliament, plenary sitting begins, Interfax-Ukraine (19 March 2013)
  10. Court deprives Vlasenko of parliamentary mandate, Interfax-Ukraine (6 March 2013)
  11. "MPS throw punches in parliament". BBC News.
  12. "Russia Today: Ukrainian deputies exchange 'fascist' insults, start brawl (VIDEO, PHOTOS) - Mar. 19, 2013". 19 March 2013.
  13. Regions are collecting signatures for dismissal of the Svoboda's vice-speaker. Ukrayinska Pravda. March 29, 2013
  14. Party of Regions wants to fire Koshulynsky, because it considers him a neo-fascist. Ukrayinska Pravda. March 30, 2013
  15. Opposition blocks speaker's rostrum, puts forward three demands Archived 2019-12-14 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrinform (3 April 2013)
    Opposition lawmakers block rostrum and presidium of VRU, UNIAN (3 April 2013)
  16. Opposition continues to block session hall of Verkhovna Rada, Interfax-Ukraine (4 April 2013)
    Regions Party to come to premises of Verkhovna Rada at Hrushevskoho Street on Friday, Interfax-Ukraine (4 April 2013)
    Parliamentary majority decides to hold session outside Verkhovna Rada, to vote showing hands, Interfax-Ukraine (4 April 2013)
  17. Ukraine parliament moves building amid opposition blockade Archived 2013-05-03 at the Wayback Machine, GlobalPost (4 April 2013)
  18. (in Ukrainian) Tyahnybok: Insurgents will be punished. YouTube Svoboda channel
  19. Chuhunnikov: At the meeting Regionals and Communists there are only 169 deputies. UDAR YouTube channer.
  20. MPs Nemylostyvy, Stadniychuk confirm their withdrawal from Batkivschyna faction, Interfax-Ukraine (4 April 2013)
  21. Three MPs revoke statements on quitting Batkivschyna, Interfax-Ukraine (4 April 2013)
  22. Ukraine's united opposition discussing formation of single party, Kyiv Post (7 December 2012)
  23. Five factions, including Communist Party, registered in parliament, Kyiv Post (12 December 2012)
  24. MPs Kanivets, Skosar say they quit Batkivschyna due to reluctance to participate in Yatseniuk's 'show', Interfax-Ukraine (4 April 2013)
  25. Opposition leaves Rada session hall, Interfax-Ukraine (5 April 2013)
  26. Opposition leaders summoned to court due to blocking of parliament, Interfax-Ukraine (5 April 2013)
    (in Ukrainian) Кличка, Яценюка і Тягнибока викликають до суду за блокування Klitschko, Yatsenuk and Tiagnybok summoned to court for blocking, Ukrayinska Pravda (5 April 2013)
  27. (in Ukrainian) Опозиція заблокувала трибуну мінімум до понеділка The opposition blocked the rostrum until at least Monday, Ukrayinska Pravda (6 June 2013)
    (in Ukrainian) Янукович з радістю прийшов би в Раду, якби не обструкція Yanukovych happy to come to Parliament, if not obstruction, Ukrayinska Pravda (6 June 2013)
  28. Baloha, Dombrovsky no longer MPs, Ukrinform (3 July 2013)
  29. Ukrainian president asks for laws to be passed to facilitate EU association agreement Archived 2020-11-17 at the Wayback Machine, Euronews (3 September 2013)
    Ukraine leader urges pro-Europe drive despite Kremlin pressure, Reuters (3 September 2013)
  30. Rada schedules reelection in troubled districts for December 15, The Ukrainian Week (5 September 2013)
  31. Court strips MP Ihor Markov of his mandate, Interfax-Ukraine (12 September 2013)
  32. Former deputy says pro-presidential party run by bullies, Kyiv Post (16 September 2013)
  33. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decree 2-VII, 1003
  34. Laws of Ukraine. Vekhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 748-VII: On the Chairman of the Verhkvona Rada of Ukraine (Про Голову Верховної Ради України). Adopted on 22 February 2014. (Ukrainian)
  35. Rada instructs speaker Turchynov to coordinate govt's work before coalition govt's formation
  36. Resolution of Supreme Council of Ukraine. 2012-12-12
  37. Parliament's first vice speaker Kaletnik resigns
  38. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decree 4-VII, 1006
  39. Resolution of Supreme Council of Ukraine. 2012-12-12
  40. Batkivschyna says stripping Vlasenko of mandate illegal, expects objective verdict from ECHR, Kyiv Post (19 March 2013)
  41. Lawmakers say offered up to $6 m for deserting opposition, Interfax-Ukraine (6 June 2013)
  42. (in Ukrainian) Депутатські фракції і групи VII скликання Deputy fractions and Groups VII convocation, Verkhovna Rada
  43. (in Ukrainian) Пам'ятні моменти Верховної Ради VI скликання Memorable moments of the Verkhovna Rada of VI convocation, RBC Ukraine (28 October 2012)
  44. CEC: Party of Regions gets 185 seats in Ukrainian parliament, Batkivschyna 101, Kyiv Post (12 November 2012)
  45. 28 MPs quit Party of Regions faction in Rada Interfax Ukraine. 21 February 2014. Accessed 22 February 2014
  46. Parliamentarians drop Regions Party faction one by one Interfax Ukraine. 22 February 2014. Accessed 22 February 2014
  47. (in Ukrainian) National deputies of Ukraine:Lev Myrymsky, Verkhovna Rada
  48. (in Ukrainian) Dynamics in the fraction For Peace and Stability in the VII convocation, Verkhovna Rada
  49. Turchynov dissolves Ukrainian Communist Party faction in parliament, Interfax-Ukraine (24 July 2014)
  50. Ukrainian communists not to join other political forces in new parliament, says Symonenko Archived 2013-04-19 at archive.today, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2012)
  51. (in Ukrainian) Result of parliamentary votes, Verkhovna Rada
  52. Ukraine's Opposition Again Blocks Parliament Podium, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (4 April 2013)
    Ukraine parliament reopens after four weeks, but fists fly again, Reuters per Kyiv Post (19 March 2013)
    Tiahnybok also goes to Brussels to attend meeting of European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, Interfax-Ukraine (27 August 2013)
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