Vitalii Bezghin: The Verkhovna Rada has supported at first reading a bill that will help small communities remain functional during the war

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has supported draft law No. 14405 “On ensuring the powers of local councils under martial law”. The law will ensure the stable and proper functioning of local governments when the early termination of the mandates of individual deputies in village, settlement and city councils of territorial communities creates problems with quorum.

“The adopted law will enable local governments to make decisions needed by communities. This is an important step towards regulating their work under martial law. I thank the members of parliament who supported the bill regardless of political affiliation. Special thanks to First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniienko for advocating the bill, and to Artur Herasymov and Oleh Syniutka for their work on a balanced version. I thank the associations of local governments for their shared position and systematic work. It is now important to move quickly through the second reading and resolve an issue that directly affects the work of communities,” stressed Vitalii Bezghin, Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons.

Why the bill was needed For a number of reasons, including the mobilisation of deputies, early termination of mandates and the impossibility of holding local elections under martial law, the functioning of some local councils elected under the majoritarian electoral system is currently difficult or even impossible. In particular, in 2025, 211 village, settlement and city councils did not hold a single plenary meeting (14.6% of their total number). As of 1 February 2026, there were nearly 3.5 thousand vacant deputy mandates in village, settlement and city councils (about 10% of their total number).

What the law provides for,

The law establishes temporary arrangements for the work of local councils of territorial communities during martial law and for 6 months after it ends or is lifted.

The key change is the introduction of a special mechanism for local councils whose membership has decreased.

If the mandates of individual village, settlement or city council deputies are terminated early, so that the council has no more than half but no fewer than one-third of its full membership, the council will be considered duly constituted. This will preserve the local council's ability to make decisions needed by the territorial community.

Other innovations in the law include:

▪️a council decision will be considered adopted if a majority of the council's members vote in favour;

▪️the head of a community will be entitled to suspend a council decision within 5 days and return it for reconsideration. If the council reconfirms the decision with 2/3 of the votes of its members, it will enter into force.

▪️specific rules are also established for the early termination of the powers of a village, settlement or city head. The relevant council decision may be adopted by secret ballot with the support of 2/3 of deputies if the relevant legal grounds exist.

The law also provides for special arrangements for the exercise of powers by local council deputies who are serving in the military, whether mobilised, serving under contract or called up from the reserve. During their military service, certain legal requirements will not apply to them, such as the obligation to participate in council sessions and committee meetings.

In addition, where there are security risks, a village, settlement or city council will be able to determine independently the form and method for deputies to report and make their reports public, for example, a written or online report instead of a report in person.

Thus, the law creates a mechanism that will allow local councils to continue exercising their powers even when their membership has been substantially reduced and to ensure that decisions needed by the community are made.