[5] Stepanenko received more than 12,000 pluses and more than 90,000 votes at the 2018 Latvian parliamentary election and became one of the most supported representatives of the 13th Saeima.

[6] On the first day of the sitting of the 13th Saeima Stepanenko announced she would be leaving the Harmony parliamentary fraction and working as an independent deputy, however, she stated that she would continue to work with the party in matters that do not conflict with her own values.

[7] Stepanenko started serving in the Legal, European Affairs and Sustainable Development committees.

[2] From 15 November 2021, Julija Stepanenko was one of the four Saeima deputies to be barred from parliament sittings by a special law prohibiting elected representatives without a COVID-19 certificate to take part in the discussion both in-person and remotely.

[8] She believed that this decision of the parliamentary majority is deeply undemocratic and shows that under the banner of fighting against COVID-19 things have gone thoroughly astray.