An electronic petition for public reporting by Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klychko to the community has gathered the required 6,000 votes. The initiative was authored by Andrii Borovyk, Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine CSO. The Kyiv City Council must now consider the initiative through the established procedure, and Vitalii Klychko must comply with the law and meet with Kyiv residents.
Vitalii Klychko last reported openly to Kyiv residents in December 2021. Since then, Kyiv has been living under full-scale war and constant security, infrastructure, transport, budget, and social challenges. This is precisely why the need for direct conversation between city authorities and the community has only grown.
“Kyiv residents backed a very simple demand: the mayor must talk to the community openly and regularly. This is not a political gesture but a basic standard of accountability. Kyiv has accumulated many difficult questions: winter preparations, security, the cost and quality of public transport, urban infrastructure and public spaces, protection of cultural heritage, budget spending priorities, and more. Residents have the right not only to read the authorities' announcements, but also to ask questions and hear answers,” said organization director Andrii Borovyk.
The Transparent Cities program at Transparency International Ukraine stresses that public reporting by the mayor is one of the key tools of local government accountability. It allows the community, which pays taxes and elected the mayor and council members, to see the results of the city council's work and that of its divisions, and to understand the authorities' priorities. Ultimately, it is the mayor's accountability that signals to citizens that the city is ready to be transparent.
“Support for the petition showed that Kyiv residents are ready to use lawful tools of participation and to demand not formal communication from the authorities, but dialogue. Now it is important that the city authorities not reduce consideration of the petition to a bureaucratic reply. Kyiv needs a full, open, and accessible report from the mayor to the community, and we are ready to provide expert support for proper, high-quality reporting by Vitalii Klychko,” Andrii Borovyk emphasized.
The organization analyzed how mayors report to communities in Ukraine. According to the Transparent Cities program, about 75% of mayors report, and a quarter meet with the community in person.
Transparency International Ukraine is an accredited representative of Global Transparency International. Since 2012, TI Ukraine has been helping Ukraine grow stronger. The organization takes a comprehensive approach to the development and implementation of changes for reduction of corruption levels in certain areas.
TI Ukraine launched the Transparent Cities program in 2017. Its goal is to foster constructive and meaningful dialogue between citizens, local authorities, and the government to promote high-quality municipal governance, urban development, and effective reconstruction. In 2017–2022, the program annually compiled the Transparency Ranking of the 100 largest cities in Ukraine. After the full-scale invasion, the program conducted two adapted assessments on the state of municipal transparency during wartime. In 2024, the program compiled the Transparency Ranking of 100 Cities, and in 2025, it launched an updated format for assessing city councils — the European City Index.