Extension of Presidential and Parliamentary Powers in Ukraine Until the End of Martial Law

The regular presidential elections in Ukraine were scheduled for March 31, 2024. However, due to Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the ongoing war, and the imposition of martial law, it is currently impossible to hold them, according to the Center for Strategic Communications at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

Among the main reasons are the impossibility of expressing the will of all citizens, as millions of Ukrainians have become refugees and millions are in temporarily occupied territories, the impossibility of organizing a full-fledged electoral process, and ensuring the security of citizens during voting. However, Russian special services are actively trying to undermine the legitimacy of the central government in the eyes of citizens to plunge Ukraine into internal chaos and, taking advantage of this, inflict a military defeat on it.

For this purpose, the enemy is doing everything possible to make Ukrainians doubt the legitimacy of the central government after May 20 and, consequently, the legitimacy of the decisions it has taken. The manipulative nature and groundlessness of such messages are evident, as is the impossibility of conducting a nationwide vote in conditions of full-scale war. Therefore, it is worth reminding why postponing the presidential elections in Ukraine is a correct and necessary decision.

Conducting presidential elections in a state of martial law is directly prohibited by Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law." Of course, the parliament has the authority to amend existing legislation, but in this case, there is no basis for it: according to Article 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the electoral rights of citizens are not among those that can be restricted during martial or emergency situations.

Indeed, in November 2023, the heads of parliamentary factions signed a memorandum stating:

"We also agree that future free and fair national elections (parliamentary, presidential) are held after the end of the war and the expiration of martial law, with sufficient time to prepare for the elections (not less than 6 months after the end of martial law)," the statement said.

The absolute majority of Ukrainians also do not support the idea of holding elections during a war. This is confirmed by the results of a nationwide survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in the fall of 2023. 81% of respondents believed that elections should be held after the end of the war and that they are currently untimely. Supporters of postponing the elections overwhelmingly prevailed in all regions of Ukraine.

Thus, today in Ukraine, there is neither a real demand for holding presidential elections during a war nor an objective possibility to organize them in accordance with democratic standards.