“The Chairman of the CEC Oleg Didenko proposes to adopt a separate law for holding post-war elections, which will take into account specific conditions and procedures different from peacetime”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“In my opinion, it is more expedient to approve a separate law that will regulate the specifics of post-war elections – to establish specific procedures and moments that are not typical for elections in peacetime,” Didenko said.
He also noted that there is a separate question regarding the criteria for the possibility or impossibility of holding elections in a certain territory. The head of the CEC believes that this issue should also be regulated by a separate law.
“Such a draft law was developed by the CEC in 2022. The commission proposed it to the Verkhovna Rada. After that, some work took place in the Council with the involvement of international partners. The only thing is, as of now, it is not registered, as far as I know,” said the head of the CEC.
He explained that due to the war in Ukraine, there are many settlements that are completely or partially destroyed and practically depopulated. “Is there a need to hold elections there? Such issues must be resolved,” Didenko emphasized.
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The working group includes 64 participants, including representatives of the Parliament, the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, military structures, the CEC, public organizations, the Supreme Court, and the expert environment.
The next meeting of the working group is scheduled for the first half of January – no later than January 9.
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk said that the working group will work out all the nuances of the application of the Electoral Code, which are related to the war, in particular: the issue of voting by military personnel and their right to be elected; the voting of Ukrainians who are currently outside Ukraine, the holding of elections in the temporarily occupied territories of the country, as well as the issue of the presence of foreign observers at the elections.
Stefanchuk stated that the law on elections during martial law will be used once.
In early December, in an interview with Politico, US President Donald Trump, who advocates a peaceful settlement of the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, once again stated that Ukraine should hold presidential elections, which “have not been held for a long time.” In his opinion, the authorities of Ukraine “use the war in order not to have elections.”
After that, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that he is ready for the elections and called on the US to help guarantee security for the elections.
Later, Zelenskyi said that he had a conversation with the representatives of the Verkhovna Rada, and expects from them a vision regarding the possibility of holding elections during martial law.
Read also: “Putin’s idea”. Who will replace the Armed Forces at the front if the military goes to the polling stations?
Previously, Trump had already called for elections in Ukraine and even called the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator”, although he later did not repeat these statements.
Russian President Volodymyr Putin and other Russian officials similarly falsely claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi was allegedly illegitimate because Ukraine did not hold a presidential election in 2024, and also claimed that all Ukrainian civilian authorities were illegitimate because the president appointed regional officials.
At a press conference in Moscow on December 19, Putin said that the Russian Federation is “ready to think” about guaranteeing security in the event of elections in Ukraine, in particular, refraining from strikes deep into the country’s territory on voting day. He noted that there should be no ceasefire for the elections in Ukraine, as Russia has already held more than one election without a ceasefire during the war.
Elections are prohibited during the martial law declared in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.