In Mykolaiv, a female lawmaker was removed from the housing allocation committee without her knowledge

Yelizaveta Trishchanovich, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council, was removed from the public commission on housing issues, and she learned of her removal after being kicked out of a WhatsApp group.

She spoke about this during a meeting ofthe Committeeon Human Rights, Children, Family, the Rule of Law, Transparency, Anti-Corruption Policy, Local Self-Government, Council Member Activities, and Ethics.

According toTrishchanovich, she had been serving on the commission since 2021. She works on issues related to housing allocation for military personnel and Mykolaiv residents in need of improved living conditions.

According to the deputy, on September 9, the executive committee approved the committee’s new membership. However, the draft decision was published on September 7, and the letter requesting nominations for deputies was received only after the decision had already been made.

Trishchanovich believes that her removal without warning violates her rights as a council member and hinders her work. She also questioned the transparency of the process for forming the new committee.

The issue was reviewed by the legislative commission on legality. Its chair, Olena Kiselova, stated that the procedure for replacing the council member was improper. In her opinion, before making changes to the composition of working bodies, council members must be informed in advance and their proposals taken into account.

Kiselova also drew attention to the need to review the composition of the housing commission. According to her, the law does not allow a single person to simultaneously serve on both the supervisory board and the public commission on housing issues, yet such cases do exist.

Separately, the deputies raised the issue of how meetings are organized. Trishchanovich explained that the committee’s agenda might be announced at noon, with a vote taking place just one hour later. According to her, meetings are not held via Zoom.

Kiselova proposed regulating the conduct of such meetings, specifically by providing for remote participation so that deputies can fully perform their duties.

Following the review, the legislative commission recommended reinstating Trishchanovych to the public commission on housing issues, revising its membership, and establishing rules that would prevent the unjustified removal of deputies from working bodies. It was also proposed to take into account the requirement prohibiting simultaneous membership on both the supervisory board and the housing commission.

Ірина Глухова