Transparency International Ukraine has published the results of a new study of the transparency of city councils in 11 Ukrainian cities. Experts checked citizens' access to meetings, publication of decisions and information on humanitarian aid. Poltava turned out to be the least transparent city, scoring only 38 points out of a possible 100.
The Transparent Cities team evaluated the city councils of Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Kropyvnytskyi, Lutsk, Lviv, Odessa, Poltava, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv, and Kyiv based on 40 openness criteria. Dnipro showed the best results — 66 points, Odessa — 64, Lviv — 63. Kyiv scored 53 points, and Poltava once again found itself at the bottom of the rating, which has already become a systemic problem.
Poltava's biggest shortcomings were in the areas of access to city council and executive committee meetings, publication of voting protocols, information on local taxes, regulatory acts, and humanitarian aid. Despite the presence of sections with documents and broadcasts of meetings, key transparency indicators remain unmet.
Analysts emphasize that even the cities with the highest scores do not reach two-thirds of the maximum number of points, and Poltava has found itself "at the bottom" of the rankings for at least the third time due to limited access to public information and weak communication with citizens.
