People's Deputy of Ukraine

The People's Deputy of Ukraine may be elected a citizen of Ukraine who at the day of elections turned 21, has the right to vote, and resides within Ukraine for the last five (5) years.[3][4] There were number of deputies who before being elected to parliament held the citizenship of Ukraine no more than two years. Among them were Dmytro Salamatin, Vadim Novinsky, and others.

A citizen of Ukraine cannot be elected to the Verkhovna Rada if he has a conviction for committing a crime and that conviction is neither extinguished nor taken out of records by the law established order.

Each deputy carries out their duties on a continuous base.

A deputy may not possess any other representative mandates, be appointed to the state service, be placed in other salaried positions, participate in other paid or entrepreneurial activity (except for teaching, scientific or artistic), be a member of a governing body or a supervisory council of a company or organization that are for profit. A candidates that was elected into parliament has to submit to the Central Election Commission of Ukraine documents confirming their dismissal from their previous work place within 20 days after the election.[5]

The requirements for the incompatibility of a deputy's mandate with other types of activities are established by the Law.

In case of appearance of circumstances that breach the requirements for the incompatibility of a deputy's mandate with other types of activities, the People's Deputy of Ukraine in a 20-day term from the day of appearance of such circumstances stops that activity or submits a personal statement of resignation as the People's Deputy of Ukraine.

On 13 March 2012 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine declared unconstitutional a ban on the participation of public officials and people's deputies in general meetings of companies or organizations that work for profit.[6]

In October 2016 a requirement was placed upon deputies to declare their wealth. In the first register the 413 deputies cumulatively declared wealth of about $460 million. Reacting to public criticism, deputies cancelled a salary rise that would have doubled their salary.[7] This measure was part of an Anti-Corruption Package passed into law in October 2014, which was a requirement of international financial support for Ukraine.[8][9]

The term tushky is a popular political term which refers to a member of Verkhovna Rada who participates in party switching.

Knopkodavy (lit. "button-pushers") refers to members of Verkhovna Rada who cast a vote for other members of parliament in their absence. Deputies voting for non-present colleagues is notorious in Ukraine and is also referred to as "piano voting".[18][19] Multiple deputies have stated they could not take part in votes, but nevertheless their votes were registered in parliament.[20][21][22] In April 2011 a vote of a deputy was registered although the man had died four days before the voting.[23][24]

Voting for other deputies became prohibited by law in February 2013.[20] In December 2019, legislation was passed that made "button pushing" punishable by a fine of ₴3,000-5,000.[25] Both measures did little to cut back or prevent the "piano voting".[18][20] The first attempt to hold an MP legally accountable for "piano-voting" was announced by Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova on 12 February 2021.[18]

On 2 March 2021, sensor technologies were installed in the Ukrainian parliament that were designed to make it impossible for People's Deputies to vote on behalf of absent colleagues (since they need now to use both their hands for a single vote).[18]