In December 2023, 84% of Ukrainians polled, according to a KIIS survey, believed that it was not the right time to hold elections and that this issue should be postponed. In February 2024, the number of respondents decreased, but not significantly: 69% of Ukrainians surveyed supported Volodymyr Zelenskyy remaining in office until the end of martial law.

There is no demand for elections among the people of Ukraine. At the same time, the media occasionally reports on the “illegitimacy” of the president and the need for parliamentary re-election. Where do they come from? And are the elections necessary?

All of this was discussed at the press conference “Resilience of Key State Authorities and Democracy in Times of War: the View of Civil Society Representatives”.

Olga Lymar, Executive Director of the RPR Coalition, outlined the issues for discussion: “As you know, the 5-year presidential and parliamentary terms have already passed, and the next elections are due soon. But today we will discuss whether they are necessary, whether we can talk about the legitimacy of the state authorities – the parliament and the president. And how we can strengthen democracy, even despite the full-scale invasion.”

To begin with, Yulia Kyrychenko, co-chair of the RPR Coalition Board, member of the Board of the Center for Political and Legal Reforms, reminded that if martial law had not been introduced in Ukraine, then, according to the Constitution, parliamentary elections would have been held on October 29 last year, and presidential elections – on March 31 this year. But these dates are relevant only in a state of peace.

“If a state of emergency or martial law is introduced in the country, elections are not held. And not because the authorities are trying to usurp and extend their powers, but because democratic elections cannot be held under martial law, given the security situation and the restriction of constitutional rights, including freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and free movement of citizens,” – the expert noted.

She is convinced that the narratives about the need of elections are the next stage of Russia’s information war against Ukraine. The weakening of citizens’ trust in their government benefits the aggressor country, as people will be demotivated to defend their country.

Pavlo Romaniuk, legal advisor at the Civil Network OPORA, agreed with Yulia Kyrychenko. He added that the lack of security for citizens, the destroyed infrastructure in the combat zone and millions of displaced persons whose data are not in the state register of voters also prevent transparent elections.

“The Venice Commission also emphasizes that elections require a peaceful political atmosphere and full realization of all human rights and freedoms, full public order and security. This is what determines the constitutional and legal restrictions for holding elections under martial law,” emphasized Romaniuk.

Vadym Miskyi, program director of Detector Media, also mentioned Ukraine’s information space, which is not ready for democratic elections. In his opinion, the United Marathon will not promote pluralism for the elections: “It is obvious that our media structure is not ready for this.”

The discussion around the elections is fueled by the Kremlin’s IPSOs, emphasized Mr. Miskyi: “Russia is investing enormous resources to promote its IPSOs. High-ranking officials in the Russian presidential administration coordinate a weekly meeting where they discuss what the most relevant messages of Russian propaganda will be this week, and then it goes down the entire vertical of influence, reaching both Ukraine and Western audiences.”

However, sooner or later – after the war is over – the issue of elections will have to be returned to. Therefore, Anton Chirkin, an expert at the Center of Policy and Legal Reform, attempted to predict how elections might be held after the end of martial law: “Amend the Constitution and relevant legislation to specify the procedure for extending the powers of higher authorities and perhaps even provide for the establishment of potential new institutions, which, for example, function in Sweden, Spain and Germany, when, in a state of emergency, if a certain higher authority cannot fulfill its powers, so-called joint committees or commissions are formed, which, under certain circumstances, take over the relevant functionality.”

Finally, Olga Lymar, Executive Director of the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition, reminded about the draft law “On Public Consultations” that civil society has been advocating for years: “The draft law is part of the Ukraine Facility plan. Its adoption will promote democratic processes, as it will involve, among others, MPs as subjects of public consultations.”

The press conference was held within the framework of the Democratic Integration, Resilience, and Engagement (Ukraine-DARE) project, implemented by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) with the financial support of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany in cooperation with the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition and the Centre of Policy and Legal Reform. The project aims to facilitate the approximation of Ukrainian legislation to EU norms, build a dialogue on the challenges to democracy in Ukraine during the war, and promote civic engagement of young people.