Based on the results of the third session of the new parliament, the reform activities of people’s deputies as well as attendance of parliamentary sittings have slightly decreased. If the largest group of the second session was the provisional “group of reformers”, then now it is the provisional group of “moderate reformers”. Former leaders of the ratings have lost their positions. Yet, party affiliations of the reformers and anti-reformers have not changed – on the one side we have Servant of the People, and the Opposition Platform — For Life on the other.
Within the year of their work, the deputies of the 9th convocation passed 807 laws, out of which 102 are reform-based. At the same time, during the third session the deputies passed 31 reform-based laws which is half of what was passed during the second session.
The new parliament’s zeal for reforms is gradually decreasing. After the two sessions, the average level of reform support by the people’s deputies has decreased by 7% – from 73% to 66%. It is enough to move 77 deputies from the Servant of the People party from the group of reformers to the group of moderate reformers. This group is currently the most numerous in Rada.
The level of discipline has also decreased. During the third session, the deputies started skipping the sittings more often. The average attendance levels of the parliamentary sittings has dropped from 91% after the second session to 75% after the third session.
See the complete rating and the votes of a specific deputy in our updated tool Deputy Efficiency Coefficient.
Deputy Efficiency Coefficient is an accumulative rating. The place in the rating is the average efficiency of the deputy for all the sessions. It is recalculated after the end of the session and additional parliamentary sittings. It means that active voting for reforms during one session does not guarantee first spots in the rating based on the performance during all sessions. In such a manner, the rating rewards people’s deputies for steady work and allows to trace the dynamics of reform support by each deputy.
The position in the rating is also determined by the frequency of attending the sittings. This factor explains why deputies with equal reform support scores occupy different spots in the rating.
A maximum score (100%) is awarded to a deputy who has voted for all reform-based draft laws and did not support anti-reforms.
Leaders and outsiders
The top three on the Deputy Efficiency Coefficient rating has changed completely based on the results of the two sessions. Former leader Petro Pavlovskyi supported the reforms by 21,5% less during the third session. His average score dropped from 100% to 78.5% and he is now the 192nd on the list. Oleksandr Kopylenko, who shared the first place with Mr. Pavlovskyi, supported the reform by 17% less. He is now the 168th, with a score of reform support of 83%.
According to the results of the previous session, three deputies shared the second place – Yurii Koriavchenkov, Mykhailo Ananchenko, and Serhii Lytvynenko. The first two deputies still support the reforms quite strongly – 94.5% and 93% of support based on the results of two sessions, and hold the 28th and 54th places respectively. Unlike his colleagues, Serhii Lytvynenko plummeted to the 215th place (his score of reform support dropped from 100% to 76%).
According to the results of the third session, the rating no longer includes deputies that have scored 100% (i.e. supported all reform-based laws and did not vote for the anti-reform laws). Thus, the deputies who share the second and the third place voted “for” all the laws – good and bad.
Respectively, after the third session, 39 deputies hold the first three places: one has a score of reform support of 98%, 16 scored 95% and 22 deputies have a score of 94%.
After the third session, the rating now has a single leader. This is a newcomer deputy from the Servant of the People party – Oleksandr Sanchenko, who scored 98%. It should be noted that Sanchenko became a deputy at the end of the second session, so he could not possibly vote for the four anti-reform laws which were then passed. During the third session, he supported the Law on the Possibility of Entering Ukrainian Higher Educational Institutions for the Residents of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Donbas and Crimea without External Independent Testing (score – 0.5 points), which decreased his general rating of reform support.
The second place in the reform support rating is occupied by 16 deputies who during the previous sessions supported reforms for 95%. However, if the deputies scored the same points for reform support, their final standing will depend on the coefficient of parliamentary sitting attendance. That is why the top of the list of occupied by Oleksandr Bakumov who not only voted “for” all the laws that impact reforms but also did not miss a single sitting. Perhaps, this why it is quite possible that he is not so much in favor of the reforms but is simply very disciplined.
The worst anti-reformers are representatives of the Opposition Platform – For Life Vadym Rabinovych (support level 2%), Vadym Stopar (2%), Taras Kozak (3%), and Yurii Solod (4%). During the third session, they did not vote for a single reform-based draft law. The exception is Yurii Solod, who during the third session supported the law which allows change of intended use of lands without a land management project (+1 iMoRe point). During the second session, these deputies supported some reforms, so they placed in different spots on the rating.
Reformers, moderate reformers, and anti-reformers
When the new parliament started its work, the deputies demonstrated amazing discipline. They voted unanimously on almost all the laws, they did not miss the sittings, and participated in most voting procedures. That is why we divided them into provisional reformers, moderate reformers, and opposition. Let us see how the constitution of these groups has changed based on the results of the two sessions.
Fig. 1 Faction constitution of the provisional groups in the Verkhovna Rada
Note: the group of reformers is deputies who supported the reforms for 100-89%, moderate reformers – 88%-40%, opposition – 39%-0%. The Figure shows the number of deputies from each faction in the group.
The provisional group of reformers currently consists of 112 deputies (during the previous session there were 187 of them). They support the reforms for 89-100%. Similarly to the second session, this group consists of Servant of People deputies and non-affiliated deputies with ties to Ruslan Stefanchuk and Dmytro Razumkov’s Servant of the People. During the third session, however, 77 deputies of the Servant of the People faction have moved to the provisional group of “moderate reformers” who supported the reforms for 40-89%.
As a result, moderate reformers are now the largest provisional group. 219 deputies. The “moderate” group consists of all Holos deputies (19 persons), almost all Dovira group deputies (19 out of 20) as well as most European Solidarity deputies (25 out of 27), 136 ‘servants of the people” (44% of the faction deputies). Moderate support for reforms was also shown by non-affiliated deputies who make up almost half of the said provisional group (9 out of 22).
Three Batkivshchyna deputies departed from the general faction policy and supported the reforms, that is why they are part of the moderate reformers group. At the same time, Serhii Yevtushok (reform support level of 54%) became the deputy only after the third session. For Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk (44%) it is the first experience of being a deputy. This group of three deputies includes a long-liver of political life. Ivan Kyrylenko (44% of reform support) has been the deputy of 8 convocations.
The provisional group of anti-reformers consists of deputies whose support level of reforms is below 40%. Based on the results of the third session there are 94 deputies of this group. A vast majority of the group are the same deputies – Batkivshchyna faction (18 out of 24 deputies) and all the 44 deputies from the Opposition Platform – For Life. The group also includes Oleksandr Dubinskyi who has been in opposition to the reforms for the second session in a row (level of reform support of 28%).
The European Solidarity leader Petro Poroshenko is also a member of the provisional opposition group based on his level of reform support. His support score is 22% and he attended 43% of the sittings. Together with the former head of state, another member of the European Solidarity party who is in provisional opposition is one of the oldest deputies of the convocation Mustafa Dzhemiliov (reform support score of 28%, attendance score – 49%). The opposition group also has a representative of the Dovira group of deputies, the rest of the group are moderate reformers. It is Hennadiy Vatsak, who supported the reforms for 29%.
Fig. 2 Average support of the reforms by factions
The largest reformer factions are still Servant of the People (average support level of 85%) and Holos (70%). The average support of the reforms by other factions is below the average efficiency of the Verkhovna Rada (66%).
The third place, based on the results of the two sessions, is occupied by Dovira group (58%), which took the place of European Solidarity (56%, fourth place). Non-affiliated deputies switched places with the Za Maibutnie group. Batkivshchyna and Opposition Platform – For Life still hold the lowest places in the rating of reform support.
Reforms and factions: who supports what
Fig. 3 shows which areas of reforms were “favorite” for each faction and which were not supported.
Fig. 3 Support of reform areas per factions, %
Legend: The figure shows an average level of reform support by the factions. Voting for each reform-based draft law gives a deputy a number of points – the same amount as “rewarded” to the draft law by reform index experts. “Anti-reforms” have negative values, voting for such draft laws decreases the general reform score of the deputy. Average support of the reforms by factions is the average score received for a specific law by all deputies of the faction.
Thus, the Servant of the People supported almost all areas equally, but for the power sector. This area was supported by Holos (average support of 73%) and European Solidarity (53%).
On the other hand, the reforms of public service and competition policies were approved solely thanks to Servants of the People.
Batkivshchyna supported reforms of public expenditure and voted for the Law On Motor Road Safety and the Law On Prohibition of Clearcuts on Mountainous Slopes of the Spruce and Beech Forests of the Carpathian Region which have been included into the group “Other in the business environment”. Reforms of public expenditure and state debt management are actively supported by the Za Maibutnie faction, which is in opposition in general.
The Opposition Platform – For Life is so opposed to reforms that they even received a negative score in the Anti-Corruption direction. Most deputies of this faction supported anti-reform laws: the law which allows assistant deputies to work part-time and run a business (-1 point) and the law on the change of procedure of bringing criminal charges against deputies to cancel their immunity (-2 points).
Conclusions
- The Verkhovna Rada is getting more moderate when it comes to supporting reforms. In comparison with the previous session, 77 deputies have moved from the group of reformers to the group of moderate reformers. 112 deputies now support reforms at the level of 89-100% (there were 187 of them according to the results of the previous session). 219 deputies now support reforms at the level of 40-88% (there were 139 of them during the previous session). 94 deputies support reforms below the level of 40% (there were 92 of them during the previous session).
- The first place is occupied by the newcomer deputy from Servant of the People – Oleksandr Sanchenko who supported the reforms for 98%. The second place is shared between 16 deputies from Servant of the People who supported the reforms for 95%, the third place is occupied by 22 deputies (94%).
- The largest reformer factions are still Servant of the People (average support level of 85%) and Holos (67%). They are followed by Dovira, European Solidarity, and non-affiliated deputies. Standing in opposition to reforms are deputies from Batkivshchyna, Opposition Platform – For Life, and Za Maibutnie group.
- The areas most supported by the deputies are public expenditure (76%), corporate management (73%), and other in the business environment (73%). Most reforms conducted by the parliament during the first year of its work belong to the area of Business Regulation.
Deputy efficiency Coefficient is a tool that helps assess the contribution of each people’s deputy to the passing of reform-based draft laws. It helps us see who votes “by default”, who supports the reforms, and who hampers them.
The efficiency coefficient is based on the assessment of the laws which suggest a change of the “rules of play”. The laws are studied and assessed by independent experts: the best economists and analysts of the country. Each law passed by Rada receives a certain score: if a law has a positive expected impact on the economy, quality of governance, and democracy, the score is positive. If it distorts the stimuli and promotes authoritarianism, then the score is negative.
The Deputy efficiency coefficient helps see how each deputy has voted for the laws from the list of Reform Monitoring Index. In addition, the efficiency coefficient reflects aggregate support (or lack thereof) both of specific laws and reforms in a certain sphere per faction, “experience” of the deputy (whether it is their first time in the parliament), the way they were elected (majority or party-list) and other characteristics.
If a deputy voted for a specific law, they receive the score of the law, if they voted against – the score of the law are deducted. If the deputy abstained or did not vote they receive zero points. Possible values of the index – from 0% to 100%. 100% is awarded to a deputy who voted for all reforms and did not support anti-reforms, i.e. receives the highest score. The points of other deputies are transformed into percent of the highest score.
The position in the rating is also determined by the attendance of Verkhovna Rada sittings.
Limitations of the rating A large portion of work done by the deputy is “invisible” – for instance, voting against “harmful” draft laws during committee discussion as well as discussion of the norms of the draft law with the stakeholders before the draft law has been put up for vote by the committee. Since such work is not reflected in the open data of the Verkhovna Rada, it is impossible to assess and factor it in the rating.
Attention
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