Ukraine’s parliament can operate under difficult conditions despite crisis – David Arakhamia
Arakhamia stated that the Rada "can act in difficult conditions" (Photo: Oleksii Honcharenko / Telegram)
Ruling party faction leader David Arakhamia said Ukraine’s parliament can “operate under difficult conditions and make decisions” despite a crisis, while acknowledging ongoing challenges that still need to be addressed on March 25.
“Today, the Verkhovna Rada confirmed that it can act in difficult conditions and, as I said earlier, this parliament has repeatedly demonstrated its readiness to make the most difficult decisions in the toughest times,” Arakhamia wrote.
According to him, the interests of the state “have always been and remain the top priority.”
“Decisions are being made, and we are preparing more formats for joint work,” the faction leader wrote.
On the morning of March 25, lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko wrote that the Verkhovna Rada session “has been going on for 20 minutes, and the number of Servant of the People members is not increasing,” and posted a photo of an almost empty chamber. According to him, six lawmakers are on vacation and 10 are on business trips.
Later, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that “lawmakers’ bills are being passed calmly” in parliament. In particular, the Rada adopted a bill on forms of state support in education, as well as exemptions for residents of damaged housing from utility payments and taxes during the reconstruction period.
“This is a lawmakers’ initiative, and as you can see, all the votes were quickly found. This is for those who tried to push the narrative that ‘lawmakers are afraid of NABU’ or that ‘there are no votes,’” he wrote.
Parliamentary crisis — what is known
In an interview published on March 13, Andrii Motovylovets, first deputy head of the Servant of the People faction, said about 40 lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada are ready to resign their mandates. He said it is becoming increasingly difficult for the faction’s leadership to secure votes for bills needed to form the budget and fulfill international obligations.
Motovylovets said the main reason for the difficulties is lawmakers’ fear of anti-corruption bodies.
“The key problem is that the Servant of the People faction has lost its core. What is the core? When I gather votes in parliament, I clearly understand which lawmakers are ready to support a particular bill. Previously, I could count on 180 Servant of the People lawmakers. Now the faction’s core consists of 111 lawmakers,” he said.
On March 14, during a meeting with journalists, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said lawmakers would have to either serve in parliament or he is ready to discuss legislation on changes to mobilization rules so that lawmakers could go to the front.
Will you support Ukraine’s free press?
Dear reader, as all news organizations, we must balance the pressures of delivering timely, accurate, and relevant stories with requirements to fund our business operations.
As a Ukrainian-based media, we also have another responsibility – to amplify Ukraine’s voice to the world during the crucial moment of its existence as a political nation.
It’s the support of our readers that lets us continue doing our job. We keep our essential reporting free because we believe in our ultimate purpose: an independent, democratic Ukraine.
If you’re willing to support Ukraine, consider subscribing to our Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.
Please help us continue fighting Russian propaganda.
Truth can be hard to tell from fiction these days. Every viewpoint has its audience of backers and supporters, no matter how absurd.
If conscious disinformation is reinforced by state propaganda apparatus and budget, its outcomes may become deadly.
There is no solution to this, other than independent, honest, and accurate reporting.
We remain committed to empowering the Ukrainian voice to push against the muck. If you’re willing to stand up for the truth – consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. Thank you very much.
Will you help tell Ukraine’s story to the world?
Twenty years ago, most people hadn’t even heard of Ukraine. Today, the country is on everyone’s lips and everyone’s headlines. War pushed us on the front page. But there are many other things we do that we are proud of – from music and culture to technology.
We need your help to tell the world Ukrainian story of resilience, joy, and survival. If you’re willing to back our effort, consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
