Ukraine rules out national elections during wartime

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ruled out holding national elections during wartime, citing severe security risks, mass displacement, and constitutional restrictions under ongoing martial law.

Security and demographic hurdles

Ukraine remains under nationwide martial law amid ongoing Russian aerial bombardments and ground assaults, conditions under which domestic legislation explicitly prohibits staging national ballots. President Zelenskyy stated that the war must end and comprehensive security guarantees must be established before any nationwide democratic exercise can take place.

Should elections be attempted during the conflict, Kyiv would require Western partners to guarantee full voting access for hundreds of thousands of active-duty soldiers on the front line and millions of refugees scattered across Europe.

“I am ready to hold them tomorrow, but if we are at war, we cannot hold elections,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “It is not just about the Constitution or electoral laws, but primarily about security. Children cannot attend school. How can you hold elections? What kind of elections? How do you organize voting when nine million people are abroad? Usually, about 500,000 citizens vote abroad, but now we are talking about nine million. And what do we do about people living in temporarily occupied territories? Who will oversee their vote while Russian soldiers are stationed there?”

Constitutional mandate under martial law

Although Zelenskyy’s five-year presidential term officially expired in May 2024, national ballots remain legally suspended under Ukraine's martial law provisions. Both parliament and legal scholars maintain that the continuity of state power remains constitutionally protected until martial law is formally lifted.

Translation by Iurie Tataru

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Ukraine rules out national elections during wartime

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