On March 22, the Civil Network OPORA has presented preliminary results of Parliamentary monitoring in Ukraine: 100 days of Parliamentary activity : new Rada – new quality?
The monitoring was focused on MPs' activeness and content of their legislative initiatives, parliamentary conflicts, openness of the information about parties' financing, administrative expenses and activities of the deputy corp and the Apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada. OPORA representatives have also announced monitoring program principles and major goals for the restoration of trust to and strengthening influence of the parliamentary institution.
The Verkhovna Rada wasn't very active during its first 100 days. Out of 20 days of plenary sittings, the parliament worked only 10, and was blocked during another 10 days (not including weekends). MPs have spent 19 days on activities in committees, and 8 days on activities in their districts. The MPs have had 53 days off. Therefore, MPs didn't work for more than half of 100 days.
Still, despite law efficiency of plenary and committee activities, MPs managed to carry out the law making function and register draft laws, which were monthly analyzed by the OPORA. (Reports for December, January, and February are available at oporaua.org)
Among the most active lawmakers are: Arsenii Yatseniuk (the Fatherland, 51 bills), Serhii Mishchenko (non-faction, 42), Volodymyr Yavorivskyi(the Fatherland, 38), Petro Symonenko (the CPU, 36) and Vitalii Klychko (the UDAR, 32). OPORA denotes that leaders of factions are often only nominal co-authors of draft laws and resolutions, what is due to the common interpretation of the leader's role in law-making process.
Most of parliamentary initiatives concerned economic and administrative issues (261 bills); politics and state administration is on the second place (256); social issues are of the third topicality among MPs (186). The foreign affairs sector was the least popular among MPs; only 9 draft laws were registered. During 100 days, the Verkhovna Rada has taken 152 effective decisions (laws or resolutions), 117 of which concerned special local elections.
OPORA denotes, that the social legitimacy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is formed not only through the elections, but through MPs' activities during their cadence, their influence on political processes, availability of real instruments for the implementation of parliamentary powers. Therefore, civic activists must responsibly and constructively inform the public about the situation, as well as impartially control it and propose practical instruments for strengthening the influence and independence of the parliament.
7 MPs haven't yet reported to the CEC on their campaign expenses
Only the Communist Party of Ukraine has managed to answer the information request from the OPORA regarding the implementation of the Law On Political Parties and promulgate party's financial reports for the previous year. Thus, the yearly income of the CPU for 2012 was 112,464,879 UAH (111,600,414 of them are voluntary donations, 830,992 – member fees, 33,473 – passive income), the total sum of financed expenses is 110,708,362 UAH (in particular, on campaigning – 77,795,365 UAH, party's allowance – 32,912,997 UAH). The other parties failed to provide reports or the information about the place of their publication during 1.5 months.
Besides that, 7 MPs haven't yet reported to the CEC on their campaign expenses. They are: Yuliia Lovochkina (ED # 6), Borys Deich (ED # 8), Mykola Soloshenko (ED # 38), Ivan Bushko (ED # 73), Oleksandr Dudka (ED # 82), Oleksandr Presman (ED # 139), Mykola Kucheruk (ED # 156). Such situation proves the financial nontransparency and lack of discipline of political parties and their representatives.
