The Rada has created a working group for the election law after the war: key challenges.

A working group has been established to prepare the draft election law

According to ТСН: The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk announced the establishment of a specialized working group that will develop a draft law on conducting elections after active hostilities have ended.

This information was announced during the celebrations on the occasion of Diplomatic Service Day. The Speaker of Parliament noted:

"Regarding the elections, today I signed an order and established a working group to prepare this draft law. It is headed by Alexander Serhiyovych Korniyenko, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, who is present here. It will consist of representatives from all factions and groups without exception, involving all colleagues who represent civil society, 'Opora', and other specialists knowledgeable about election organization issues, as well as the participation of the Central Election Commission,"

Stefanchuk emphasized that for Ukraine, this is the first case of forming electoral legislation considering the consequences of a full-scale war, and such experience is virtually non-existent in the world.

He added:

"Why is this important? Because for the first time, unfortunately, we are forming election legislation in the wake of issues related to this terrible war, and thus it is very important for us that such experience is extremely rare or does not exist at all. There are questions that are not described in textbooks, and therefore the working group will work through all the nuances of applying the electoral code in light of this war. There are many questions,"

According to him, the group will pay special attention to the participation of military personnel in elections. Stefanchuk noted:

"You asked a question about the military. This is one of the closest, defining issues, but not the only one. Since it is not only about the possibility of military personnel participating in elections as candidates but also as voters, that is, the right to be elected,"

The Speaker also raised the complex issue of voting for Ukrainians abroad. He noted:

"In addition, we need to address the issue of voting for millions of Ukrainians who are currently outside Ukraine. What format? Since we know that many countries, including those in the European Union, prohibit voting outside diplomatic or consular institutions,"

Stefanchuk drew attention to the need to clarify approaches to elections in temporarily occupied territories.

He emphasized:

"We need to understand how to conduct elections or how to relate to elections in temporarily occupied territories because this is also a great challenge. We do not want this to be used by the aggressor in the case of non-holding or holding with some restrictions, making it appear as if Ukraine has abandoned these territories,"

The Speaker also noted that it is important for Ukraine that the conduct of elections is not formal and that this must correspond to international recognition. He said:

"We are not Putin, we are not Russia. We do not need elections just for show. We need elections that will be recognized by the democratic civilized world,"

Stefanchuk emphasized the importance of the presence of international observers to confirm the democratic nature of the elections.

He added:

"It is necessary for the civilized world to come to Ukraine as observers and confirm the democratic nature of these elections,"

At the same time, the Speaker noted that the details regarding the timing and conditions for conducting elections have not yet been discussed. Stefanchuk clarified:

"When they will be, how, under what conditions, I would not like to start this discussion right now. Let us allow the working group together with the specialists to express themselves. Because for every issue, there are many nuances that need to be discussed, to take the best global experience and offer Ukraine a new law that will be for one-time use specifically for these elections. And then, I hope, we will move on to the platform provided for in the Constitution, in the electoral code, and will move along this path,"

It should be noted that earlier, the Central Election Commission indicated that it was impossible to conduct elections without changing the legislation.

The establishment of a working group in Ukraine to prepare a draft law on elections indicates a desire to adapt the electoral legislation to new realities after the war. This process can be an important step for stability and development in the context of a complicated political situation, as well as for restoring citizens' trust in elections. Specific details of the draft law still need to be discussed, but a new page in Ukraine's electoral practice is already being opened.