Voting in elections during war can be online and offline. Parliament considers options for Ukrainians abroad

In elections during wartime, a hybrid voting format — offline and online — may be considered. Voting over several days is also possible.

This was stated by Davyd Arakhamia, the head of the “Servant of the People” faction, at a meeting of the parliamentary working group working on a draft law on elections under martial law.

According to him, this is due to the difficulties of organizing voting for Ukrainian refugees abroad.

"We will either have to do this in a few days, or return to the issue of hybrid voting using online mechanisms. I hope that your working group will seriously work on whether it is actually possible to do hybrid voting — online and offline," Arakhamia said.

He noted that in some countries, legislation restricts the opening of additional polling stations, and this will require additional funding.

Another problem is the participation of internally displaced persons in voting. According to the head of the “Servant of the People” faction, the voter register does not have accurate data on all internally displaced persons.

IDPs often do not register because they fear mobilization. And their low turnout can undermine the legitimacy of elections.

"We need to focus on maximizing turnout. It seems to me that it could be due to the fact that we expand the possibilities for voting: either adding a few days, or adding the possibility of online voting," Arakhamia added.

Elections in Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs term was supposed to end in May 2024, but elections cannot be held due to the war. The Constitution does not directly prohibit elections during martial law; such a ban is contained in the law "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law".

At the same time, the Constitution contains a number of requirements for elections and referendums that cannot be fulfilled during active hostilities. Therefore, Ukraine insists that elections are possible only under the condition of a ceasefire and security guarantees.

Despite this, Russia regularly demands elections and calls the current government illegitimate. The United States has also joined these demands. President Donald Trump said in an interview on December 9 that “the time has come” to hold elections in Ukraine.

Zelensky responded the same day that he was ready to hold elections and “does not hold on” to the presidency. But security issues, the voting of the military, and the legislative basis for the legitimacy of the elections remain.

The head of the “Servant of the People” faction Davyd Arakhamia stated on December 22 that the MPs in the Verkhovna Rada are forming a working group that should promptly work out the issue of the possible holding of presidential elections during martial law.

Its creation was later approved by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk. He stated that the law on elections during wartime would be applied once.

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