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| Parliament of Ukraine | |
|---|---|
| Name | Verkhovna Rada |
| Native name | Верховна Рада України |
| Legislature | Ninth convocation |
| House type | Unicameral |
| Established | 1938 (as modern successor to Ukrainian legislative bodies) |
| Leader1 type | Chairman |
| Leader1 | Ruslan Stefanchuk |
| Members | 450 (electoral law), 424 (current) |
| Voting system | Mixed-member proportional (historical variants) |
| Last election | 21 July 2019 |
| Meeting place | Verkhovna Rada building, Kyiv |
Parliament of Ukraine is the unicameral supreme legislative body of Ukraine, serving as the national parliament where laws are adopted, budgets approved, and executive oversight exercised. Originating from Soviet-era institutions and transformed during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian independence referendum, 1991, it plays a central role in Ukraine's constitutional framework shaped by events like the Orange Revolution and the Euromaidan. The body interacts with presidents such as Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, Viktor Yanukovych, Petro Poroshenko, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy and institutions including the Constitution of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
The legislature traces antecedents to the Central Rada (Ukraine), the Ukrainian SSR's Supreme Soviet, and the All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets; it was reconstituted amid the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the 1991 declaration of independence. Key milestones include adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine (1996), the 2004 Orange Revolution-influenced constitutional amendments, the 2010 Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruling, reversal during the 2014 Euromaidan upheaval, and wartime sessions following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Parliamentary crises have been linked to leaders like Yulia Tymoshenko, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and Oleksandr Turchynov and pivotal laws such as the Law on the Verkhovna Rada and electoral reforms enacted after the 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election and 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election.
The chamber historically consisted of 450 seats under the Constitution of Ukraine (1996), though seat counts have varied with vacancy and annexation after the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and conflict in the Donbas. Deputies are elected as members of blocs and parties including Servant of the People (political party), Opposition Platform — For Life, European Solidarity, Batkivshchyna, Holos (political party), and independent MPs. Internal organs include committees such as the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Budget Committee, and the Committee on National Security and Defense, mirroring parliamentary committees in bodies like the European Parliament and referencing practices from the Council of Europe.
Constitutional powers include legislation, ratification of treaties, approval of the budget, appointment and dismissal of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, consent to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, impeachment procedures affecting presidents like Viktor Yanukovych and Petro Poroshenko-era debates, and oversight of agencies such as the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Bank of Ukraine. It exercises foreign policy roles complemented by the President of Ukraine and parliamentary diplomacy with bodies including the NATO–Ukraine Commission and bilateral relations with states like Poland, United States, Germany, and Turkey.
Bills may be submitted by deputies, parliamentary factions, the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and related state bodies; high-profile initiatives include reforms tied to the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine and anti-corruption laws enforcing standards from the European Court of Human Rights and International Monetary Fund conditions. The process involves committee review, three readings, plenary votes requiring simple or qualified majorities, and promulgation by the president; emergency procedures have been used during crises such as the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and the 2022 wartime legislative session relocations.
Factions form parliamentary groups reflecting results of elections like the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election and 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election; major parties include Servant of the People (political party), European Solidarity, Batkivshchyna, Holos (political party), and previously Party of Regions. Coalition-building has resembled practices in the Sejm of Poland and Bundestag coalition politics, with faction leaders negotiating portfolios and committee chairs; defections and bloc re-alignment have been influenced by figures such as Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Volodymyr Groysman.
Presiding officers include the Chairman (Speaker) and deputy chairmen; notable speakers have been Dmytro Razumkov, Andriy Parubiy, and Oleksandr Moroz. Parliamentary staff and apparatus interact with offices like the Verkhovna Rada Administration, parliamentary committees, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and external oversight bodies such as the Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the General Prosecutor of Ukraine.
Electoral systems have varied: single-member districts, proportional party lists, and mixed systems used in elections like 1998, 2002, 2006, 2012, and 2019; thresholds, districting, and party registration are governed by laws influenced by comparative practice in the Canadian House of Commons and British House of Commons reforms. The Central Election Commission (Ukraine) administers elections, with international monitoring by organizations including the OSCE and Council of Europe; controversies have arisen over constituency boundaries in Crimea and Luhansk and over campaign financing linked to oligarchs such as Rinat Akhmetov.
The main seat is the Rada building on Hrushevsky Street, Kyiv, near landmarks like Mariinsky Park and the Mariinsky Palace; emergency sittings have convened in alternative locations during events including the 2014 Crimean crisis and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Plenary procedure follows standing orders codified in the Rada's Rules of Procedure, with plenary sessions, committee hearings, and voting technologies; ceremonial functions reference protocols seen in legislatures such as the U.K. Parliament and the U.S. Congress.
Category:Politics of Ukraine Category:Legislatures