9th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 9th convocation (, ) is the current convocation of the legislative branch of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's unicameral parliament. The 9th convocation meets at the Verkhovna Rada building in Kyiv, having begun its term on 29 August 2019 following the last session of the 8th Verkhovna Rada. The 9th Verkhovna Rada's composition is based upon the results of the 21 July 2019 parliamentary election, which took place three months after the second round of the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election. Ukraine's head of state during the parliament's term  is President Volodymyr Zelensky. Eleven parties were represented in the Verkhovna Rada, although only five of them surpassed the mandatory five percent election threshold to gain representation based on the proportional representation system. About 80 percent of the members of parliament of this convocation were new to parliament; 83 deputies managed to get re-elected from the previous parliament and 13 deputies from earlier convocations. All deputies from the biggest party with 254 seats, Servant of the People, were political newcomers. 61 percent of the new MPs had never before been engaged in politics. A total of 27 constituencies were  not elected due to various crises taking place in the country. A total of 10 constituencies in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and two in the City of Sevastopol were not elected due to the 2014 Crimean crisis and subsequent annexation of Crimea by Russia, while a further nine constituencies in Donetsk Oblast and six constituencies in Luhansk Oblast were not elected due to the ongoing War in Donbass. Elections in these regions can only take place after Ukraine re-establishes control over these territories. Due to the ongoing military conflict with the Russian Federation, the activity of the largest  opposition party, Opposition Platform — For Life, has been suspended due to its alleged pro-Russian stance for the duration of martial law. Leadership. Leadership (August 2019 – ). On August 29, 2019, the parliament elected Dmytro Razumkov from Servant of the People as the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada. On the same day, Razumkov officially announced all the names of parliamentary factions and deputy groups in parliament of the 9th convocation. On October 7, 2021, Razumkov was removed from his position after a vote in which 284 MPs voted in favor of his dismissal. The dismissal was initiated by the ruling party  Servant of the People after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky expressed disappointment in Razumkov for not supporting the party's initiatives and declaring that "he is not a member of our team anymore". Razumkov was replaced by his first deputy Ruslan Stefanchuk (also from Servant of the People) a day later. Parliamentary factions and groups. Government party (241) Government support (41) Opposition (111) Others (25) Vacant seats (27) Committees. The Verkhovna Rada approved the composition of its 23 committees on 29 August 2019. This was done without a parliamentary debate, and to the dismay of some people's deputies who chanted : "shame!" and "what are you doing?". 19 of the 23 committees are headed by representatives of Servant of the People. The committees and their management are as follows: Committee on Matters of Agriculture and Land Policy Committee on Matters of Anti-corruption Policy Committee on Matters of the Budget Committee on Matters of Economic Development Committee on Matters of Digital Transformation Committee on Matters of Education, Science and Innovation Committee on Matters of Energy and Utilities Committee on Matters of Environmental Policy and the Use of Natural Resources Committee on Matters of Foreign Policy and Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Committee on  Matters of Freedom of Speech Committee on Matters of Human Rights, Deoccupation and Integration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, National Minorities, Inter-ethnic Relations Committee on Matters of Humanitarian and Information Policy Committee on Matters of Integration of Ukraine with the European Union Committee on Matters of Law Enforcement Committee on Matters of Legal Policy Committee on Matters of National Security, Defense, and Intelligence Committee on Matters of the Nation's Health, Healthcare and Medical Insurance Committee on Matters of Organization of State Power , Local Self-government, and Regional and Urban Development Committee on Matters of Parliamentary Regulations, Deputy Ethics, and the Operation of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Matters of Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights Committee on Matters of Transport and Infrastructure Committee on Matters of Youth and Sport Committee on Matters of Finances, and Tax and Customs Policy