Ukrainian Parliament Advances Local Self-Government Reforms: First Step Toward State Oversight Legislation
On Wednesday, October 8, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine took a significant step towards strengthening oversight and accountability of local governments.
During the plenary session, deputies supported in the first reading draft law №14048 with 243 votes.
This legislation aims to amend existing laws to enhance transparency and legality within local councils across various administrative levels.
Central to this initiative is establishing an effective oversight system—in which regional state administrations will oversee acts of regional councils, while local state administrations will supervise decisions of village, settlement, city, and district councils.According to Vitaliy Bezgin, head of the profile subcommittee of the Verkhovna Rada, the next steps include incorporating recommendations from the European Commission and joint proposals from nationwide local government associations.
The draft law will also be aligned with the European Commission’s review before being further considered in committees, preparing it for a second reading in the upcoming plenary week.
This process is expected to be completed within two weeks.
Additionally, the law proposes that each district head will have three nominated candidates, and a personnel reserve for district heads will be established to promote transparency and qualified management.
An innovative aspect is the introduction of mechanisms to increase responsibility for oversight of acts from regional and local councils and their executive bodies, aiming to improve legal compliance.However, experts warn that the reform process is still ongoing.
In early September, the parliament rejected several key bills related to local administration reform under the Ukraine Facility program.
The main challenge remains aligning the positions of parliament, the government, and local government associations.
Although decentralization reform has significantly progressed, especially in terms of resource and authority distribution, oversight and control mechanisms still need refinement.
Ihor Koliushko from the Center for Political and Legal Reforms emphasized the importance of not losing this progress amid current challenges to state and local governance.