Back
Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The Verkhovna Rada on September 16 supported in principle a bill that allows local councils to continue functioning even if their composition includes fewer than half of the deputies. Document No. 14405 provides that a village, settlement, or city council is considered to have powers if, after the early termination of powers of a portion of its deputies, at least one third of the total membership remains.
Member of Parliament Sofia Fedina announced support for the bill in principle. According to her, in the revised version of the document a clause 3 was removed, which provided for the mandatory introduction of a military administration in a locality in case the number of local council deputies was reduced to less than half of the total composition.
“They ensured the uninterrupted work of village, settlement, and city councils until their newly elected bodies take office,” wrote MP Sofia Fedina in her Telegram channel.
Also in the bill, the new procedures for suspending heads of communities were limited: they will apply only to councils elected by a plurality who have encountered issues with the powers. As a separate rule, mobilized deputies of local councils are exempt from liability for missing meetings.
Why there was a need to change the rules for how councils operate
The problem of councils' lack of power intensified due to the war: some deputies are mobilized, some have died or left the country, and early elections during a state of war are not held. Because of this, some councils risked losing the ability to make decisions if the number of current deputies dropped below half of the total.
The bill, approved in principle, is meant to solve this problem without involving military administrations — previously that scenario was considered the only way out for communities that had lost half of their deputy corps. Now such councils will be able to continue functioning independently if they retain at least one third of the membership.
Earlier, Informator reported that deputies of local councils were prohibited from traveling abroad. The government expanded the list of officials who may cross the border during a state of war only on the basis of a service assignment, including local self-government deputies and heads of budget institutions.
We also wrote that parliament is preparing changes to electoral law for future elections. The Office of the President explained that returning to the pre-war electoral system would not be quick due to security risks and millions of Ukrainians abroad.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Верховна Рада дозволила місцевим радам працювати без половини депутатів". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Informator.
