Ukrainian MP proposes considering possibility of holding elections both offline and online

Davyd Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People party, the ruling parliamentary faction, has said that a working group on elections should explore whether voting could be held in a hybrid format, combining both online and in-person methods.

Source: Arakhamia at a working group meeting on drafting legislation for elections during martial law

Quote: "We will need to address the issue either by holding voting [for Ukrainians abroad] over several days or by returning to the question of hybrid voting using online mechanisms. As a former IT specialist, I still don't fully understand whether online voting is feasible or not.

But right now, we hold online meetings and our committees vote online…

I hope your working group will seriously consider whether hybrid voting – online and offline – is actually possible."

Details: Arakhamia also highlighted the challenge of voting for internally displaced persons (IDPs). He believes that "many IDPs do not register, apparently to avoid being noticed due to mobilisation".

He noted that it is unclear how to bring displaced voters to polling stations, stressing the need to maximise turnout.

Quote: "If turnout is low, it gives the enemy an argument that these elections could be considered illegitimate."

Background:

• On 22 December, Arakhamiia said a working group was being formed in parliament to deal with the issue of presidential elections during martial law.
• On 18 December, it became known that Oleksandr Korniienko, First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) and newly elected head of the Servant of the People party, said he may head a parliamentary working group on referendum and elections, the creation of which has been initiated by Davyd Arakhamiia.

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