Former head of the Ternopil Regional Council, Mykhailo Golovko, lost his parliamentary mandate after his guilty verdict came into force. So, Nazariy Golovko and Maryana Golovko.
Mikhail Golovko, sentenced to nine years in prison, has lost his mandate: what will happen to his relatives' parliamentary seats?
At the same time, his closest relatives—his brother Nazariy Golovko and his wife Maryana Golovko—continue their parliamentary activities in local councils in the Ternopil region.
On July 8, 2026, the Appellate Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court heard the case of Mikhail Golovko. Following the appeal, his primary sentence—nine years in prison—remained. The politician was remanded in custody in the courtroom, and the sentence entered into force.
It was this circumstance that put an end to the question of his parliamentary status.
According to the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of Local Council Deputies," if a guilty verdict imprisoning a deputy comes into legal force, their term of office is terminated early. A separate vote by the Ternopil Regional Council to strip Golovko of his mandate is not required in such a case.
On the regional council website, Golovko remained a deputy for another month
Despite this, a month after the verdict came into force, Mykhailo Golovko continued to be listed as a member of parliament on the official website of the Ternopil Regional Council.
Moreover, the list of deputies on the regional council website had an interesting quirk. Almost all the names were listed alphabetically, but Mikhail Golovko was placed at the very top of the list—before the deputies whose last names began with the letter "B."
Mikhail Golovko's considerable ego has been repeatedly discussed in political circles. Even the list of deputies on the regional council's official website once had a peculiarity: they were all listed alphabetically, with Mikhail Golovko at the top.
After the verdict came into force, this image remained unchanged for some time. As recently as August 8, his photograph, name, and link to his personal page remained on the deputy's website.
The Ternopilians appealed to the leadership of the Ternopil Regional Council regarding why a politician sentenced to imprisonment, whose parliamentary powers should have already been terminated by law, is still listed as a deputy on the official website.
Following our appeal, the situation changed. Mykhailo Golovko disappeared from the list of deputies of the Ternopil Regional Council.
Thus, now he is not only no longer among the deputies legally, but also not on the list of the deputy corps on the official website of the regional council.
Nazariy Golovko and Maryana Golovko. What about the parliamentary mandates of Golovko's relatives?
Despite the end of Mykhailo Golovko's parliamentary career, his family remains represented in local politics in the Ternopil region.
Mykhailo Golovko's brother, Nazariy Golovko, remains a deputy of the Ternopil Regional Council.
The convicted politician's wife, Maryana Golovko, is a member of the Ternopil City Council.
Mikhail Golovko's sentence does not automatically create any legal grounds for terminating the parliamentary powers of his brother or wife. Liability in criminal proceedings is personal, and the law defines specific grounds for the early termination of each deputy's mandate.
Therefore, if we talk about the possible consequences for Nazariy and Maryana Golovko, they may not be legal, but political or intra-party.
Svoboda is publicly silent
A separate issue remains the reaction of the All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda", with which Mikhail Golovko's political career has been linked for many years.
He was a member of the Ternopil City Council, a People's Deputy of Ukraine, and a member and head of the Ternopil Regional Council. The regional council's official personal page noted that he became a member of the All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda" back in 2002.
However, after the verdict came into force and Mikhail Golovko was imprisoned, the party currently has no public position on this situation.
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There are also no reports of any political or intra-party consequences for the parliamentary activities of his closest relatives, Nazariy and Maryana Golovko.
For Mykhailo Golovko himself, the question of his parliamentary seat is effectively closed: after the verdict came into force, his parliamentary powers ceased, and after an appeal from Ternopilians, he was removed from the list of deputies on the official website of the Ternopil Regional Council.
Instead, another question remains open: who will receive a parliamentary mandate in place of Mykhailo Golovko and whether his imprisonment will have any political consequences for the Ternopil Svoboda party and the Golovko family representatives who remain on local councils.
Skelet.Org
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