The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, announced that the law on elections during martial law will be of a one-time nature and will be applied only for the upcoming elections during the war.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Formation of the Working Group and Its Tasks
Ruslan Stefanchuk signed an order to create a special working group that will prepare a draft law on elections under martial law. The group is headed by the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Oleksandr Korniienko. It will include representatives from all parliamentary factions and groups, civil society, and the Central Election Commission. Each faction and group must submit the names of two representatives by December 24.
The group will carefully address the issue of adapting the Electoral Code to the conditions of war. Among the key topics are the organization of voting for military personnel, the realization of their right to be elected, ensuring voting for citizens abroad, the possibility of holding elections in temporarily occupied territories, and the presence of international observers.
Political Reaction and International Context
The “European Solidarity” faction has already appointed its representatives — Ruslan Knyazevych and Viktoriya Syumar have been delegated to the working group, as reported by the faction’s co-chair Irina Gerashchenko. Other political forces have not yet announced their candidates.
The situation regarding the conduct of elections in Ukraine has attracted the attention of the international community. U.S. President Donald Trump stated in December of this year that presidential elections need to be held in Ukraine, which “have not been conducted for a long time,” and expressed the opinion that the Ukrainian authorities “are using the war to avoid elections.”
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized his readiness to hold elections and called on the U.S. to help ensure the security of the electoral process. He later mentioned discussing this issue with representatives of the Verkhovna Rada and awaiting their position on the possibility of elections during martial law.
“The new law will be for one-time use specifically for these elections. And I hope we will move to the platform provided by the Constitution, in the electoral code, and will proceed along this path,” said the speaker.
Representatives of the Russian Federation and its leader Vladimir Putin have also repeatedly claimed the alleged illegitimacy of the Ukrainian government due to the absence of elections in 2024. At a press conference in Moscow on December 19, Putin stated that Russia is “ready to consider” security guarantees for holding elections in Ukraine, including the possibility of refraining from strikes on election day. At the same time, he emphasized that Russia has already held elections during war without a ceasefire.
It is worth noting that since the introduction of martial law on February 24, 2022, holding elections in Ukraine has been officially prohibited.