On 29 August 2019, MPs of the Verkhovna Rada’s 9th convocation took the oath of office. Seven years later, the newly elected — and not so newly elected — representatives still hold their mandates, as martial law remains in force and parliamentary elections cannot be held.
So, what will this Verkhovna Rada be remembered for? The Agency for Legislative Initiatives invites you to look back at Parliament’s journey through the lens of time.
For the First Time, Women Hold More Than 20% of Seats
Eighty-four — that is the number of women MPs in the Verkhovna Rada of the 9th convocation as of August 2026. Women chair committees, parliamentary factions and groups, as well as parliamentary delegations. Since 24 February 2022, they have also been actively advancing parliamentary diplomacy.
This is the result both of consistent state policy — including requirements for party lists and additional funding for political parties that complied with the gender quota — and of growing public demand for women’s representation in politics.
A Decision 20 Years in the Making
One of the first laws adopted by MPs of the 9th convocation abolished parliamentary immunity.
The idea, supported in the all-Ukrainian referendum of 2000, was finally implemented almost two decades later. Since the law was adopted, dozens of MPs have been notified of suspicion of criminal offences. Yet alongside the possibility of holding MPs accountable came the risk of political pressure on them from law enforcement agencies.
The End of ‘Button Pushing’?
‘Button pushing’ had long been an integral part of parliamentary ‘culture’, and even its criminalisation failed to eliminate the problem completely. Finally, in 2021, the touch-sensitive button of the Rada-3 electronic voting system became operational in the Verkhovna Rada.
The voting principle is straightforward: for ten seconds, an MP must keep the voting button pressed with one hand while simultaneously keeping the other hand on the touch-sensitive button. In other words, both hands of the MP are occupied. That put an end to the possibility of multiple voting.
The story of ‘button pushing’ is also an example of how criminalisation does not always work. Adopting a law did not solve the problem; the best solution — a technical one — had been within reach all along.
The Mono-Majority Experiment
The electoral victory of the Servant of the People party enabled it, for the first time in independent Ukraine’s history, to form a coalition on its own. Or, more precisely, to become the coalition itself.
In political vocabulary, the phenomenon became known as the ‘mono-majority’. As a result, all power within the ‘Parliament – Government – President’ triangle was concentrated in one political force. Today, however, the mono-majority can hardly adopt any decision without ad hoc support from other factions and groups.
Records and Anti-Records of the Verkhovna Rada
The media dubbed the beginning of the 9th convocation’s work ‘turbo mode’, but the Verkhovna Rada set its real records for adopting legislation during the first months of the full-scale invasion. Between 24 February and 2 April 2022, Parliament sat in plenary on five days, while MPs spent a total of around 2 hours and 23 minutes in the session hall. They devoted roughly 57 minutes directly to considering draft laws and adopted a total of 70 laws and 3 resolutions during that time.
At the same time, the data show a slowdown: draft laws now take longer to pass than at any other point in the convocation, with more than a year elapsing between registration and adoption.
A total of 63 laws were adopted during the 14th session — the lowest figure for the 9th convocation. Given the record-low number of registered draft laws, this points to a substantial decline in legislative activity.
European Integration: Hostage to Its Own Ambition
During the term of the Verkhovna Rada’s 9th convocation, Ukraine opened negotiations on accession to the European Union. For Parliament, this means adopting almost 300 laws envisaged by the National Programme for the Adaptation of Ukrainian Legislation to European Union Law (EU acquis). Yet deadlines for fulfilling all of Ukraine’s EU membership commitments keep being postponed, while MPs are voting for fewer and fewer European integration initiatives.
Parliament appears to have become a hostage to its own ambition: despite its declared readiness to adopt the European integration legislation required, it has still failed to establish a separate accelerated procedure, limiting itself to two half-measures in the form of resolutions.
What the data show: only two European integration laws were adopted during the 14th session. This is the lowest number and the lowest share of adopted European integration laws since the 7th session. Such a pace poses a serious risk to Ukraine’s European integration prospects.
The Longest Convocation in History
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Verkhovna Rada has extended martial law 20 times.
At the beginning of the convocation, 424 MPs were serving; today, there are 392. Few of them can have expected at the start of their term to hold a mandate for longer than five years, still less under wartime conditions. With no prospect of elections in the near future, MPs are effectively ‘stuck’ in their seats.
A Seven-Year Snapshot
The years of the full-scale invasion have shown that the Verkhovna Rada is adaptable to external change and capable of acting when circumstances demand it. At the same time, the overall pace of legislative work has declined over the years. Yet despite this slowdown, and despite debates about Parliament’s agency and capacity, the institution remains central to major state processes. Foremost among them is steering Ukraine along its path towards membership of the European Union. Both the preservation of democratic order and the trust of international partners depend on the Verkhovna Rada’s ability to function effectively.
