TV program Dear Deputies is a joint project of the OPORA, Hromadske TV, and the First National TV Channel, the First National TV channel and USAID's program the RADA. This weekly program provides the audience information about activities and inaction of MPs, their salaries, offices, internal matters, soviet spirit of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and international experience of parliamentarism. This program is aimed to explain complicated things in a comprehensible way and make people smile if there is a reason.

You will see in episode broadcasted on 21 September how MPs started "pushing buttons" again as the autumn began; how other Parliament in the world deal with the problem of "turncoats"; which MPs of current convocation were assistants to MPs of VII convocation; how MPs work in constituencies, on the example of district #197 in Cherkasy oblast.

- The MPs came back to "pushing buttons" with the beginning of autumn – who is guilty of "pushing buttons" and how to solve this issue for good?

Activists have noticed the last week that MPs Dmytro Sviatash and Oleksandr Presman from the Revival group, Vasyl Nimchenko (Opposition Bloc) and Andrii Ivanchuk (People's Front) voted for other MPs besides themselves. Mr. Ivanchuk explains such actions in the video coverage.

Acting Head of the VRU Committee on Rules of Parliamentary Procedure and Support to Work of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Pavlo Pynzenyk has also expressed his opinion regarding "button pushers" and actions of his party colleague.

- "How do they do?": how parliaments of the Great Britain, New Zealand, India, Cambodia, Uganda, and Republic of South Africa cope with the problem of "turncoats".

- Assistants to an MPs: which MPs of the current coalition were assistant of MPs from the previous coalition?

  • Current MP Andrii Shynkovych (Petro Poroshenko Bloc) was assistant to MP Oleksandr Hereha (Party of Regions);
  • MP Vitalii Hudzenko (Petro Poroshenko Bloc) was assistant to Volodymyr Dudka (Party of Regions);
  • MP Ruslan Sydorovych (Samopomich) was an assistant to Volodymyr Pylypenko (Economic Development group);
  • MP Denys Sylantiev (Radical Party) was assistant to Ruslan Badaiev (Party of Regions);
  • MP Oleksandr Bakumenko (Petro Poroshenko Bloc) was assistant to Kateryna Vashchuk (Party of Regions, and Sovereign European Ukraine group since 27.02.2014);
  • Aliona Shkrum (Batkivshchyna) was assistant to MP Ihor Alieksieiev (Communist Party of Ukraine).

Which MPs have registered their relatives or “namesakes” as assistants? Comments from Vitalii Khomutynnik (Revival group).

- "Parliament behind the scenes": which duties the Head of the Verkhovna Rada Apparatus and his 1115 employees have? The journalists have tried to find out.

Why the Head of the Verkhovna Rada Apparatus is considered the second most influential person in the Parliament? Comments from Serhii Leshchenko (PPB), Viktoriia Siumar (People's Front), Ihor Shevchenko (Batkivshchyna).

- Constituency activities of MPs: MP Vladyslav Holub (PPB) in his native district #197.

Journalists of the program Dear Deputies in Cherkasy oblast talked to the citizens of Kanev and watched MP giving presents to pre-schoolers and discussing the problem of bad roads.

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The Civil Network OPORA - is non-governmental, non-political and financially independent all-Ukrainian network of activists. We united to enhance public participation in the political process by developing and implementing models of citizen participation in the activities of state and local governments.

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