The Ukrainian parliament had never seen anything like this before. The turnout shattered all anti-records. Forty-five minutes before the end of the Verkhovna Rada plenary session on October 9, only eight members of parliament remained in the session hall! Out of a total of 422 members, naturally, not a single decision was made that day.
"Parliament failed to make a single decision. It wasn't just the moratorium on media inspections during elections that suffered. The law on foreign broadcasting also fell victim to the truants," lamented Member of Parliament Olga Chervakova.
Speaker Volodymyr Groysman was also indignant. He promised to punish parliamentary faction leaders for absenteeism.
"How can you not be ashamed to look people in the eye when you don't go to work at all? I won't put up with this. I believe the role of faction leaders must be strengthened—they must be held accountable for those who neglect basic things," said the speaker, who, incidentally, was absent from the meeting hall on Friday afternoon.
The people's deputies themselves believe that faction leaders are not obligated to answer for their negligent colleagues. Responsibility should be personal.
"We need to publish the names of every absentee. So voters can find out who's who with just a few clicks (online). Personal accountability, believe me, can work," says People's Deputy Yegor Sobolev.
Voters and social media users have their own ideas for dealing with truants. Petro Poroshenko will soon voice his vision for dealing with truant MPs. A petition calling for MPs to be penalized for skipping plenary sessions has garnered the 25 signatures required for presidential consideration.
At the same time, behind the scenes in the Rada, some parliamentarians are voicing the idea of changing the decision-making system in the Verkhovna Rada: so that laws are adopted by a majority of the people's deputies present in the hall, and not, as is currently the case, by a majority of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada (226 votes).
TOP 10 truants*
1. Andrey Biletsky 99
2. Konstantin Zhevago 98
3. Dmitry Yarosh 97
4. Eugene Geller 96
5. Vladimir Misik 94
6. Valery Pisarenko 93
7. Andrey Denisenko 91
8. Anatoly Girshfeld 88
9. Alexander Feldman 86
10. Mikhail Dobkin 84
* According to the registration of people's deputies using the electronic system "Rada".
TOP 10 hard workers
1. Victor Pinzenik 102
2. Nikolai Martynenko 101
3. Ivan Melnichuk 100
4. Anatoly Evlakhov 100
5. Ruslan Knyazevich 100
6. Natalia Novak 100
7. Vitaly Khomutynnik 100
8. Victor Chumak 100
9. Anatoly Dyriv 100
10. Roman Zastavny 100
Attendance by day of the week*
Monday - 10%**
Thursday - 60-80%
Tuesday - 60-75%
Tuesday - 60-75%
Friday - 50-70%
* When is plenary week.
** There are no meetings. Only a conciliation council of faction heads, groups, and parliamentary committee leaders is being held.
Three weeks of "vacation"
After the "labor" Friday of October 9, the next time members of parliament will gather under the Rada dome is November 3! It was originally planned that from October 13 to 17, parliamentarians would work in plenary session, meaning they would pass laws. They changed their minds. The official version is that the laws need to be prepared for a vote.
"We have over 2 bills that urgently need to be approved and reviewed by committees. We need to review and approve at least ten in each area," Speaker Volodymyr Groysman said, arguing for the cancellation of the plenary week.
The unofficial one is local elections. About 70% of people's deputies are involved in local election campaigns: they lead campaign teams, run for office themselves, and appoint their relatives, friends, and colleagues to local councils.
Question of the day: How to make deputies work more effectively?
At its last session, the Verkhovna Rada was unable to pass a single law because there were few members of parliament in the session hall.
Viktor Pynzenyk, a people's deputy who has never missed a single meeting in parliament:
"Elect those who will work. There's no other way—recalling a deputy is impossible right now. And, of course, no salary should be paid for missing meetings. But for many, this isn't a punishment, especially since the current salary for deputies is small. Another option is to publicly announce absentees during meetings and publish their names in the press. Then let them explain to their constituents why they don't go to work."
Andrey Dzhedzhula, showman:
"Deputies are essentially hired employees. They're hired by the people, by the state. There's usually a system of bonuses and penalties at work. If they introduced something like this: if someone has 5-10 unexcused absences, then their parliamentary mandate should be considered."
Afanasy Grigoriev, police major, Odessa:
"Set them to an hourly wage—for every productive hour spent in the Verkhovna Rada. And punish absenteeism with a fine of 10 hryvnia."
Lidiya Olefirova, 1958 World Parachuting Champion and world record holder in the long jump, Dnepropetrovsk:
"I'm absolutely appalled by the deputies' behavior. They've never seen the sky or set any real records. If I had my way, I'd make them all jump out of a parachute."
Konstantin Vvedensky, psychologist, Kharkov:
"If someone does their job poorly, they should be fired as incompetent. If their inaction harms the country, they should be punished. Deputies already receive too many benefits from their work; it's time they remembered the existence of the stick."
Alexander Lashin, holder of the title "The Strongest Man of Ukraine", Mariupol:
"We need to take strict action: two or three instances of absenteeism, and they're fired. A couple of such incidents, and the absenteeism issue will be resolved forever. Members of Parliament won't risk their cushy seats in the Rada."
Valery, reader of the website kp.ua:
"I think corporal punishment is long overdue. Skipping school—10 lashes. Starting a fight—20. Fines and dismissals—these are all things that come with time. But when you literally experience the punishment firsthand, you remember it for a long time."
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