Failure or stagnation: how Odesa City Council deputies worked in 2025

The performance of Odesa city council members in 2025 was assessed according to 16 criteria of openness, transparency and accountability - the results showed a predominantly low level of performance by most of the elected officials. The monitoring showed no significant progress, and the key problems - weak activity, low accountability and closeness - remain systemic.

This was reported by the "Certification of Local Council Deputies".

Experts assessed the performance of Odesa City Council deputies in 2025. The results showed no systemic changes, despite some positive developments in openness and communication.

SCREEN SHOT: Certification of local council deputies

In 2025, the performance of the deputies of the Odesa City Council of the VIII convocation was analyzed according to 16 indicators of openness, transparency, integrity, and accountability. The monitoring covered 53 out of 56 councillors and showed that a significant part of the deputy corps performs at a low level.

According to the assessment, 38% of the MPs received low scores (from 0 to 2), while another 14 MPs showed mediocre results. At the same time, only 8 deputies received a positive assessment, and 11 representatives of the council received the highest score of 5. The average performance score of the deputy corps remained at 2.9 points, which indicates no significant progress compared to the previous year.

SCREEN SHOT: Performance appraisal of local council deputies

European Solidarity showed the best results among the factions, followed by Trust the Deeds and Servant of the People. The lowest scores were recorded among non-factional deputies.

The analysis of openness showed a heterogeneous situation: not all MPs publish full information about themselves, and their contact information often remains outdated. Only a third of the MPs regularly hold public meetings, while some of them limit themselves to remote communication.

SCREEN SHOT: Certification of local council deputies

Despite the high attendance of sessions, the activity of deputies remains low. In particular, in 2025, only one deputy inquiry was recorded, which indicates that this tool is poorly used to solve community problems. There are also deputies who have not actually fulfilled their duties for years.

Accountability also remains a problem: only 20 deputies published reports on their activities, and only 11 held public reports. In most cases, it is difficult to find information about the work of the elected representatives.

SCREEN SHOT: Certification of local council deputies

In general, experts state that despite some positive changes, the key problems - low accountability, weak activity and lack of openness - remain. This directly affects the quality of representation of the interests of the Odesa community.

In addition, in 2025, deputies of the Odesa City Council received UAH 5 million from the budget for their deputy funds, the total amount of which was more than a quarter of a billion hryvnias.

Анна Бальчінос