As COVID-19 strikes lawmakers, parliament prepares to work remotely to pass crucial bill

Editor’s Note: The article was updated to include new information that the emergency session planned for March 26 was postponed until March 28. 

With Ukraine in quarantine and at least two Ukrainian lawmakers infected with the novel coronavirus, the parliament is trying to figure out a way to work remotely.

The problem is, to start working remotely, parliament needs to first convene and pass the necessary legislation. Even then, it’s not clear whether remote work will adhere to the requirements of the constitution. 

The parliament, which earlier went on break until at least April 3, will try to gather for an emergency session on March 28, during which lawmakers will determine the way parliament will work during the quarantine, which is expected to last past April 3.

Some lawmakers are reportedly reluctant to attend the session after at least two of their colleagues tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that has infected over 400,000 people worldwide, 97 of them in Ukraine.

On March 23, lawmaker Ruslan Gorbenko, from the ruling 248-member Servant of the People faction, tested positive for COVID-19. Lawmaker Serhiy Shakhov, from the 17-member Dovira (Trust) group in parliament, said on March 18 that he had COVID-19.

Another lawmaker has a suspected case of coronavirus: Oleksandr Lukashev, from the 37-member Opposition Platform – For Life faction. Ukrainian media reported he was sick, citing his colleagues, but the lawmaker himself said that, while he has the symptoms, tests had not yet confirmed he had the virus.  

All three lawmakers are being kept in isolation in Kyiv’s Oleksandrivska Hospital, one of several medical centers in Kyiv designated for coronavirus response.

But the parliament can’t afford to stop working for several weeks: a number of crucial laws are expected to be passed, including the bank law, which is required by the International Monetary Fund for Ukraine to receive much-needed financial assistance. On March 24, the Cabinet of Ministers submitted the bank law to parliament.

Read More: Crucial laws stalled in parliament as lawmakers self-isolate from work

Deputy Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk addressed this issue on March 20 by registering a bill that will amend existing regulations, allowing lawmakers to hold parliament sessions by conference call for the next 60 days.

However, lawmakers need to vote for the bill the old-fashioned way – in parliament. But with more lawmakers getting sick, the question is: Will lawmakers show up for a vote?

Additionally, the Ukrainian constitution states that lawmakers must vote in person during parliament sessions. The term “in person” lacks clarification as to whether a personal video call can be constitutional.

For now, Servant of the People lawmaker Maryna Bardina says her colleagues are ready to attend the upcoming emergency parliament session. Yaroslav Zheleznyak, deputy head of the 20-member Voice faction, told the Kyiv Post that his party will also attend the emergency session. 

“Lawmakers may wear masks and protective suits,” Bardina told the Kyiv Post.

A day later, a lawmaker from the Servant of the People party, not authorized to talk to the press, told the Kyiv Post that the emergency parliament session, planned for March 26, will be postponed and is now expected to take place on March 28.

The emergency session

Unlike Shakhov, who returned from France on March 11, Gorbenko wrote on Facebook that he didn’t leave the country over the past several months. He also didn’t come into contact with Shakhov or Lukashev.

Moreover, Gorbenko took part in parliament’s March 17 emergency session, which Shakhov and Lukashev skipped. The session was attended by 378 lawmakers, who in turn elected the new Prosecutor General and Minister of Economy. President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended the emergency session.

Now lawmakers are thinking about a way to minimize contact while maintaining the workflow.  

Stefanchuk’s bill proposes amending the parliament’s bylaws to allow lawmakers to vote by video chat. 

According to the bill, for up to 60 days the parliament can work remotely, with only the speaker and a minimum number of lawmakers present in the parliament building. Those physically present can include authors of draft laws and committee heads responsible for approving the laws.

Lawmakers would be called one by one, and must state their official accreditation and vote on the given legislation. That way, the parliament is expecting to act in line with the constitution, which states lawmakers must vote in person during parliament sessions.

Political commentator Vitaly Bala says that the situation is absurd. “Lawmakers want factories and crucial enterprises to keep working, yet they themselves want to work from home,” Bala told the Kyiv Post. According to him, the constitution doesn’t allow this.

Bardina says that, in her opinion, the draft law doesn’t violate the constitution. Still, she agrees that it is not totally clear what should count as voting in person. Ukraine’s constitution was adopted in 1996, with the Constitutional Court’s explanation of voting in person issued in 1998.

At that time, voting in person meant being physically present during parliament sessions.

“I agree that there is a (legislative) contradiction and a new Constitution Court ruling is needed,” Bardina said.

Voting fast

On March 26, lawmakers will also vote on several additional issues, according to a source in the government, who requested anonymity as he was not authorized to speak with the press. Among the bills up for a vote will be budget amendments allowing money to be transferred to the fight against COVID-19 and stimulus measures for business and the population most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The parliament will also most likely hold a vote on banning the return of nationalized banks to their previous owners. This mesure, known as the “bank bill,” would prevent oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky from regaining control of PrivatBank, Ukraine’s largest lender, which he owned until it was nationalized and recapitalized at taxpayer expense in 2016.

The passage of this law would greenlight a $5.5-billion IMF loan program to Ukraine.

However, the bank bill requires a vote on its first reading, a committee discussion, passing amendments and a vote on its second reading. Only then can it become a law. Parliament can pass the law after the first reading only if no amendments are filed by lawmakers, something that almost never happens.

Another crucial law that would lift Ukraine’s archaic moratorium on farmland sales was stalled by 4,018 amendments proposed by lawmakers, most of whom are against the bill.

Kolomoisky is known to have a group of loyalists in parliament. Failure to adopt the bank bill on March 26 will most likely mean that the law will be voted on at a later date through conference call.

Political commentator Bala believes that, if the bank bill is adopted by video call, it will be overturned by the Constitutional Court.

“The decisions voted in by Skype won’t be executed,” he said.