A group of members of parliament proposes establishing a new working procedure for the Verkhovna Rada when an air raid alert is announced. In particular, after the alert is announced, lawmakers would have to go to a shelter, where they would continue voting electronically. UNN reports this with reference to Draft Resolution No. 16059.
Details
According to the draft resolution, in the event of an air raid alert and/or the receipt of information about an increased threat, it is planned to establish that the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada will resume after a break and be held in the shelter of the building at 5 Hrushevskoho Street.
A plenary session that has already begun may be continued in the shelter 10 minutes after an air raid alert is announced or information about an increased threat is received, following an oral announcement by the presiding officer.
Voting on draft laws and draft resolutions is planned to be conducted using the electronic system.
If the air raid alert ends while agenda items are being considered during a plenary session in the shelter, their consideration may continue at that location until all agenda items have been considered.
As stated in the explanatory note, the systematic announcement of air raid alerts in Kyiv leads to the forced interruption of plenary sessions of the Verkhovna Rada, effectively creating a threat of paralysis of the legislative process.
Under Ukrainian law, during an air raid alert, members of parliament and employees of the Secretariat are required to immediately proceed to a safe shelter.
Regular lengthy breaks take up a significant amount of productive time needed for parliament to exercise its constitutional powers to ensure the country's defense capability, economic stability, and the protection of citizens. In view of this, there is an urgent need to regulate a mechanism for the uninterrupted operation of the Verkhovna Rada by allowing an ongoing plenary session to continue directly in a shelter equipped with security measures
Supplement
According to the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada "On Certain Issues Regarding the Organization of the Work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Ninth Convocation Under Martial Law," during martial law, the Verkhovna Rada of the ninth convocation operates in the format of a single plenary session that continues until the day martial law in Ukraine is terminated or lifted.
It should be noted that on September 1, the Verkhovna Rada opened a record-breaking 16th session.
Previously
Members of parliament began testing the voting system in the Verkhovna Rada’s shelter.