The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk approved the creation of a working group to prepare a draft law on elections during martial law. It will be used once.
He said this during an event on the occasion of the Day of Diplomatic Service Workers, Suspilne reports.
According to him, the group will be headed by First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniyenko. It will include representatives of all factions and groups, civil society representatives, and the Central Election Commission.
Stefanchuk added that the working group will develop a document "that will make it possible to hold not just elections in Ukraine, but safe democratic elections that will be trusted throughout the world".
The head of parliament noted that when creating the bill, it will be necessary to prescribe how military personnel, displaced persons, and Ukrainian refugees abroad will vote, consider the issue of holding elections in temporarily occupied territories, as well as the presence of foreign observers in the elections.
"For each issue, there is a whole series of pros and cons that need to be worked out, take the best world experience and offer Ukraine a new law that will be used once, specifically for these elections. And I hope that we will move to the platform provided for by the Constitution, in the electoral code, and will move along this path," Stefanchuk said.
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 on the same day that he was ready to hold elections and “is not holding on” to the presidential seat. 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 in parliament 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.
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