Ukrainian Parliament on Thursday, December 19, adopted a bill, introducing criminal liability for piano voting, which is deputies casting votes in the Verkhovna Rada for their absent colleagues.
The Criminal Code of Ukraine has been supplemented by Article 364-2, which provides that deliberate voting by a people's deputy at a plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada for another people's deputy (non-personal voting) shall be punishable by a fine of 3,000 to 5,000 untaxed incomes.
At the same time, deputies turned down a motion to introduce sensor buttons, which would make non-personal voting impossible.
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The Office of the Verkhovna Rada shall ensure video recording of voting at plenary sessions.
If any MPs detect violations during the vote, the relevant bill shall be removed from agenda and then re-voted once a personal ID card of the absent deputy, which has been used at the vote, is seized.
A violation report shall then be forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation.
If a violation is revealed by journalists, accredited with the Verkhovna Rada, they are entitled to file a report with the Verkhovna Rada's Office with the relevant photo or video material attached.
