A People's Deputy of Ukraine (Ukrainian: народний депутат України, romanized: narodnyi deputat Ukrainy) is a member of parliament and legislator elected by a popular vote to the Verkhovna Rada (the parliament of Ukraine). People's Deputies of Ukraine are often referred to simply as the "deputies"; however, regular deputies are members of regional and local councils, while people's deputies are elected to the national parliament, Verkhovna Rada. Prior to 1991, the Verkhovna Rada was named the Supreme Council of People's Deputies of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
The main statutes that define the order of elections, rights and duties of the People's Deputies of Ukraine are outlined in Articles 76 - 81 of the Constitution of Ukraine. There are 450 people's deputies of Ukraine who are elected based on the general, equal and direct electoral right. The deputies may be appointed to various parliamentary positions such as the chairperson (speaker) of the Verkhovna Rada, a head of a committee or a parliamentary faction, etc. Upon their appointment to office each People's Deputy of Ukraine receives a deputy mandate.
People's Deputies that ran for the Verkhovna Rada as self-nominated candidates can join factions if they wish.[1]
Since 2016, in line with new anti-corruption regulations, all senior public officials (thus including People's Deputies) must declare their wealth in an electronic database.[2]
A person may be elected as a People's Deputy of Ukraine if they are a citizen of Ukraine who, on the day of elections, is at least 21 years of age, has the right to vote, and has resided within Ukraine for the last five (5) years.[3][4] There were number of deputies who before being elected to parliament held the citizenship of Ukraine no more than two years. Among them were Dmytro Salamatin, Vadim Novinsky, and others.
A citizen of Ukraine cannot be elected to the Verkhovna Rada if they have a conviction for committing a crime and that conviction is neither extinguished nor taken out of records by legal order.
Each deputy carries out their duties on a continuous basis.
A deputy may not possess any other representative mandates, be appointed to the state service, be placed in other salaried positions, participate in other paid or entrepreneurial activities (except for teaching, scientific or artistic pursuits), or be a member of a governing body, a supervisory council of a company, or for-profit organization. A candidate that was elected into parliament must submit documents confirming their dismissal from their previous workplace to the Central Election Commission of Ukraine within 20 days after the election.[5]
The requirements for the incompatibility of a deputy's mandate with other types of activities are established by governing law.
If circumstances arise that breach a deputy's mandate to refrain from other activities, they must either cease that activity or submit a personal statement of resignation within 20 days from the discovery of the breach.