The growth of citizens’ trust in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as an institution is the result of the coordinated and responsible work of the Parliament under martial law and the strengthening of the Parliament’s presence in social networks.
This opinion was expressed by Olena Kondratiuk, the Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, during the presentation of the results of the sociological survey “Citizens and Parliament: Trust, Interaction and Openness under Martial Law” conducted in October 2022 by the International Republican Institute (IRI) as part of the USAID RADA: Next Generation Program.
According to the survey, 56% of Ukrainians rather or completely trust the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as an institution.
“For me, as the Vice Speaker, who is a consistent supporter of the values of parliamentarism, openness, accountability, and the initiator of the Open Rada project, it is the public trust in the Parliament that has been and remains the determining indicator of our performance, not just the number of laws or resolutions adopted,” said Olena Kondratiuk.
In her opinion, one of the main reasons for the growth of public trust in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is that on February 24, 2022, the day of the large-scale russian attack, the Parliament and MPs did not scatter, as the enemy hoped, and performed one of the key security functions – promptly approved the Presidential Decree on the introduction of martial law.
“The MPs successfully passed the test of institutional stability and responsibility of the Parliament to the country and society in the first days of the large-scale russian invasion,” stated Olena Kondratiuk.
According to her, the second factor was the coordinated work of MPs in the session hall throughout the entire period of martial law.
“Throughout the year, we worked in Kyiv, adopting dozens of laws necessary for the country to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and amendments to the State Budget. Such systematic work helped to reduce the level of criticism of the Parliament,” noted Olena Kondratiuk.
The third factor, the Vice Speaker emphasized, is the revival of parliamentary diplomacy – the emergence of a new and very important role of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the international arena.
This includes advocacy for Ukraine’s EU membership, sanctions against russia, arms supplies, development of the parliamentary dimension of the International Crimean Platform, and the work of parliamentary delegations to PACE and NATO PA and other inter-parliamentary assemblies.
“Personally, as Vice Speaker, in 2022, I had 73 foreign meetings, 53 of which were high-level. Despite the competitiveness of different factions and parties within the Rada, we speak with one voice in the outside world. This is very important for the consolidation of society,” said Olena Kondratiuk.
Olena Kondratiuk believes that the fourth factor that increased the trust in the Parliament was the fact that the Verkhovna Rada and the Information Centre created under it played a key role in informing the society about the situation in the country at the beginning of the russian invasion.
“In fact, in the conditions of a certain information stupor of other state authorities, we took a leading role in informing the society about the situation in the country. Through the Parliament’s website, the TV channel within the framework of the “Unified Marathon”, the Rada’s social networks, especially Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram. This has also led to an increase in the Parliament’s audience on social media,” summarized the Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
According to the survey, 65% of the surveyed citizens learn information about the work of the Verkhovna Rada from social media.
According to Olena Kondratiuk, the high level of interest in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine among young people aged 18-24 is especially valuable – 89%.
“Our main task now is to maintain this high level of public trust. To do this, we must ensure accountability and transparency of the Verkhovna Rada. Citizens must understand and see what the Parliament of Ukraine is doing as a representative and legislative body,” emphasized Olena Kondratiuk.
The Vice Speaker also thanked the International Republican Institute (IRI), Internews Ukraine, and the USAID RADA: Next Generation Program for the research and presentation, as well as for supporting parliamentary communications.
