No bills in parliament on elections during martial law, says senior Ukrainian parliamentarian

Oleksandr Korniienko, Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), has said that there are no draft laws or legislative initiatives in parliament regarding elections during martial law.

Source: Oleksandr Korniienko on the national joint 24/7 newscast

Details: Korniienko said that any such process would first require a broader political discussion in the parliament.

Quote: "To start such a process, we all need to sit down together, talk and understand how far we can move in parliament while drafting this legislation…

We're not putting off elections for the fun of it. This needs to be explained once again to everyone. It's because of the war, because of Russian missiles, daily drone attacks, because the Russians are pushing in the east and in the south. It's not because we don't want democracy.

We are an EU candidate country, we must meet all the Copenhagen democracy criteria and we will work on this, but if there is a need from our side to provide a legislative framework, we will provide it.

But it's obvious that we cannot move forward without a security framework – the one President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has highlighted – and that has to be provided by our partners in the US and in Europe.

A security framework plus an organisational and legal framework – that's when we can start talking about something."

More details: Korniienko said there are currently no official draft laws or registered legislative initiatives of this kind in the Rada.

In his view, the Cabinet of Ministers (the Ukrainian government) should also be involved in the process, and any legislation on elections during martial law should be discussed with civil society organisations.

He listed several of the challenges that would need to be tackled in preparing for such elections, including:

• Voters abroad who would not want to return to a country under fire
• Conditions to enable frontline soldiers, who number in the hundreds of thousands, to take part in the elections
• How to enable service personnel to stand as candidates (there is a provision for leave now, but the practicalities would need to be worked out)
• Issues concerning internally displaced persons and the electoral register, including the need to give Ukraine's Central Election Commission (CEC) the relevant powers and resources
• Security criteria for holding or not holding elections and for opening polling stations, including protection from drones and rules to determine where polling stations can open and where they cannot, especially in frontline areas.

Quote: "Right now, we cannot guarantee security on election day or for campaigning in a very large part of the country: our frontline cities and villages near the front line.

I don't know the exact depth. It needs to be assessed. The security agencies need to assess it, but clearly, with these modern, powerful FPV drones that can hit from dozens of kilometres away, where to open polling stations and where not to is an issue.

Our legislation does not even define who should decide this. There are many questions here that need to be resolved and worked through. If the task is to prepare a certain legislative framework, I think we have already been moving in this direction for quite some time."

More details: Korniienko said that the CEC currently has seven working groups and many draft papers.

There are also drafts in the parliament, he added, but the Rada has not considered any of these documents in plenary sessions.

Quote: "Unfortunately, we have repeatedly faced a situation where any attempt to talk about post-war elections has turned into a political argument."

More details: Korniienko believes that if Ukraine's partners are now making immediate demands for elections, they must first ensure the security component is in place.

Regarding the likelihood of parliamentary elections, the deputy speaker also reminded viewers that Ukraine cannot amend its Constitution while martial law is in force, and under the Constitution, elections to the Rada cannot be held as long as martial law continues.

Korniienko added that the question now is whether this is simply a diplomatic negotiating tactic by partners or an attempt to exert pressure.

Background:

• US President Donald Trump has said he believes that "it's time" for Ukraine to hold presidential elections.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in response: "I am ready for ever."
• Zelenskyy said he is ready to hold presidential elections if international partners can ensure security during the vote. He is prepared to support changes to the law on elections during martial law.
• The Ukrainian leader has discussed the possibility of holding presidential elections in wartime with representatives of the Verkhovna Rada and is now waiting for MPs to "present their perspective".

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