From October 6 to 22, 2022, Info Sapiens conducted a nation-wide public opinion survey on behalf of the Center for Insights in Survey Research of the International Republican Institute (IRI), in cooperation with the Internews Ukraine as part of the USAID Program "RADA: The Next Generation".
The key findings of the survey include:
- • The majority of Ukrainians (69%) know ("a lot" + "something") about the VRU, and only 7% of respondents answered that they know "nothing". People in Kyiv are the most informed, the least - in the South and East.
- • 56% of Ukrainians "rather" or "completely" trust the VRU as an institution, and only 11% - "absolutely do not trust". The highest level of trust is among young people aged 18-24 (89%), the vast majority of whom believe that the processes in the Parliament are transparent. In total, 40% of respondents consider the work of the Verkhovna Rada to be transparent.
- • Over half of Ukrainian citizens (52%) consider "drafting and consecutive adoption of legislation" to be the among main function of the VR. Other functions that were mentioned included "bearing responsibility for the citizens’ well-being" (7%), "representation of voters’ interests" (6%). 17% were not able to name the functions of the VR.
- • The majority of Ukrainians named "assistance to the socially vulnerable groups" (59%) and "control over the spending of budget funds" (51%) as the main issues that VRU should focus on during martial law.
- • Main sources of information about the activity of the VR are "social media" (65%) and "central TV channels" (54%). Almost two thirds of all respondents stated that the information about the VR’s activity is understandable.
- • "Electronic Petitions" is the most known digital service of the VRU: half of the respondents are informed about it, a quarter have used it. The services "Public Discussion of Bills" and "Citizens Electronic Cabinet" have significant potential: almost a quarter of respondents did not know about these services, but plan to use them in the future.
- • Only 39% of Ukrainians knew the name of the People’s Deputy elected in their constituency. Awareness levels are higher in villages (46%) and are the lowest in big cities (26%). Among internally displaced persons only 9% knew the name of the People’s Deputy elected in their constituency.
- • The main sources of information about MP-level activities are social media (50%) and central TV channels (45%). About half (52%) of Ukrainians stated that the MPs elected in their districts do not inform the people sufficiently of their activities (citizens aged 45 and older that the information is not only insufficient, but is also not understandable). Only 5% of all respondents are aware of their MP’s legislative initiatives.
- • Almost half (48%) of Ukrainians viewed “securing interests of the district” among the most important priority for MPs to focus on, about one third also named “Meeting with voters,” “controlling governmental agencies” and “drafting legislation”.
- • According to respondents, the most important aspects to consider when electing a Deputy were their “honesty and ability to keep promises” (27%), their “personal characteristics” (21%) and “willingness to secure the interests of the people and hear their needs” (20%). A candidate’s platform and their previous political experience are be slightly more important for younger respondents (ages 18-34).
- • Only 12% of respondents have ever contacted a People’s Deputy (44% of them managed to resolve their issue, 19% – partially). Among them 14% reached out to a MP for help or to resolve an issue after implementation of the martial law.
- • Since Russia's full-scale invasion the need for engagement with the MP stayed the same for most of citizens (75%) compared to pre-war contexts. However, 8% stated that such need increased (11% among IDP respondents). Personal meetings, social media messaging and meetings with other voters were rated as the most convenient ways of communication with a MP. Less than a half of respondents (42%) reported that the regular communication of Deputy with the voters is present in their district.
- • Over one third of Ukrainian citizens (35%) were aware of which parties have offices in their settlement. Only 10% have contacted a political party with a question or a problem (One third of inquiries were resolved completely, 28% were resolved partially).
- • For half of the population (54%) MP’s party affiliation is important. Among residents of Kyiv and the Western parts of Ukraine, party affiliation was more important (70% and 60% respectively).
The survey was conducted using computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers. 1609 citizens of Ukraine over the age of 18 were interviewed (the sample does not include Ukrainians in the occupied territories, where Ukrainian mobile operators do not provide services, and Ukrainians who left abroad). The sample is representative of the population of Ukraine by gender, age and size of the settlement (the error of representativeness does not exceed 2.4%).