Stefanchuk explains how elections can be held during the war

The Rada has begun preparing a draft law on wartime elections. Photo: ukrinform.ua

Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk has approved the creation of a working group that will prepare a draft law on holding elections under martial law.

According to the parliamentary speaker, if adopted, this law will be applied only once. After that, he said, Ukraine should return to the electoral procedures stipulated by the Constitution and the Electoral Code, according to «Suspilne».

Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed that the working group will work on a document that will allow Ukraine to hold not just elections, but safe and democratic ones that will be trusted by both citizens and the international community.

The draft law will pay special attention to the voting procedure for the military, internally displaced persons and Ukrainians abroad. It is also intended to define the approach to holding elections in the temporarily occupied territories and the participation of foreign observers.

Earlier, Deputy Head of the Central Election Commission Serhii Dubovyk said that in order to hold safe and fair elections in line with international standards, Ukraine needs at least six months to prepare.

At the same time, it is difficult to determine the exact number of Ukrainian citizens who will be able to vote due to the massive number of people travelling abroad and the lack of an electoral address for some people.

The CEC also estimates that the presidential, parliamentary and local elections in Ukraine could cost around 20 billion hryvnias.

As a reminder, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow is ready to consider a possible ceasefire on election day in Ukraine.