Mykolaiv City Council's Online Meetings Raise Legitimacy Concerns

In Mykolaiv, they emphasized the problem of transparency in the work of the city council through online meetings, which makes it difficult to control the voting and casts doubt on the legitimacy of the decisions made.

Oleh Derenuga, editor-in-chief of the online media outlet MikVesti, spoke about a mistake made during the coverage of the city council session. As it turned out, the deputies still unanimously supported Zelensky, although the journalists initially reported that the issue had not even been considered.

According to the editor-in-chief, the mistake was the result not only of inattention but also of a general problem in journalism - a loss of control over political processes. The editor emphasized that today everyone is working offline, from teachers to doctors, but city council members still prefer the online format, working via phone.

The editor noted that only a few faces are shown on the screen, with 1 mayor, 1 secretary, 2 deputies and the director of the financial department, while there should be at least 28 deputies connected to the system. Thus, voters cannot see the voting.

Journalists have repeatedly pointed out the obvious difficulties arising from the lack of transparency in the work of the city council: the absence of roll call voting, the inability to clarify issues directly during the meeting, and the lack of transparency in the voting process.

War is an objective thing, but there is also war in Dnipro, and sessions are offline there. There is also war in Zaporizhzhia, and sessions are offline there. There is also war in Odesa, and there are offline sessions there, too. And in the Verkhovna Rada, MPs don't make decisions from their phones in the zoom, either," Derenuga emphasized.

He asked several questions to the local authorities. Why is the war not an obstacle for other cities, while Mykolaiv remains online, limiting the participation of journalists and the public? How can we guarantee the security of decision-making in this format? And will it be considered legal? The question is no longer just about the convenience of deputies, but also about ensuring the legitimacy and security of decisions made through Zoom conferences.

The editor-in-chief also provided a link to the publication of the Center for Public Investigations, which describes the organization of the Mykolaiv City Council. Experts of the campaign "Certification of Local Council Deputies" concluded that holding remote meetings of the city council calls into question both the legality of their holding and the legitimacy of the decisions made.

At the last session, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych was unable to finish the plenary session due to the absence of deputies at the voting. Despite the fact that the system was restarted several times, the mayor adjourned the meeting.

May 13 President Zelenskyy signs a law amending the law "On Local Self-Government" to increase its transparency, allowing for online meetings. The Verkhovna Rada adopted the document in the second reading on February 22, 2024. At the same time, Mykolaiv and Odesa city councils became leaders in the transparency ranking by improving residents' awareness of their activities, in particular through announcements of sessions, publication of agendas, draft decisions, minutes, and video recordings of meetings.

Анна Бальчінос