Business news from Ukraine

Holding elections in Ukraine during the active phase of hostilities is impossible for security and legal reasons, but preparations for the first post-war elections must begin in advance, as the country will have to resolve a range of issues related to voting by the military, Ukrainians abroad, internally displaced persons, and residents of de-occupied territories, participants in a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency said on Thursday.

Oleksiy Usachov, chairman of the board of the Ukrainian Politics Institute, noted that the topic of elections has long been at the center of public debate, and recent months have only intensified the sense of political activism. According to him, the impression of preparations for possible early elections is reinforced by the activation of the Central Election Commission and the work of parliamentary groups on possible changes to the electoral law.

“The issue of elections, possible elections, must be considered through the prism of two planes — their necessity and their possibility. Because war is a process that is ongoing in Ukraine. It should also be remembered that no elections in Ukraine have been held during the active phase of military operations in all the years of independence,” Usachov stressed.

At the same time, he warned against attempts to rewrite the rules to suit the political situation. In his opinion, one of the chronic problems of the Ukrainian electoral system remains the desire of each new government to adapt legislation to its own interests, which creates additional risks for confidence in the future electoral process.

“The main drawback of the electoral system in Ukraine is the constant change in legislation for each election, for each government, that is, the adjustment of legislation to the needs that politicians have identified for themselves in their political careers. And this is a great danger,” Usachov said.

He also drew attention to the need for technological protection of the expression of will. According to Usachov, Ukraine already has digital identification tools, but any technological solutions can only work if there is a high level of trust, professional administration, and no possibility of political manipulation.

“The main thing is that politicians do not juggle their capabilities and do not try to falsify elections and rig votes in their favor through electronic systems. Protecting votes and citizens during voting, and ensuring the safety of citizens, is an important priority,” he said.

Ivan Fursenko, vice president of the NGO Congress of Local Self-Government of Ukraine, in turn, stressed that even after the cessation of hostilities, the country will not be able to move to the electoral process immediately. According to him, professional communications suggest a minimum of three months after the cessation of hostilities, but he believes that this is not enough time.

“The preliminary minimum period that has been announced is three months after the cessation of hostilities. But I am deeply convinced that it is absolutely impossible to hold elections within three months. It will take at least six months,” Fursenko added.

He explained that the key challenges remain the organization of voting abroad, the participation of military personnel, and the lack of complete certainty regarding the electoral infrastructure. Fursenko recalled that before the full-scale war, voting abroad was mainly conducted at diplomatic and consular missions, but now the number of Ukrainians in European countries is so large that this resource is no longer sufficient.

“Even in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany, new polling stations need to be opened. We do not understand how to open them, because the legislation of some countries prohibits the holding of elections of other states on the territory of non-diplomatic institutions. If this work is not done, we will deprive a large number of Ukrainian citizens of their constitutional right to vote and be elected, and this will reduce the legitimacy of the entire electoral process,” he stressed.

Another set of problems, according to Fursenko, is the participation of military personnel in elections, both as voters and as potential candidates. He noted that this requires separate legal mechanisms that will simultaneously guarantee the right to vote and not undermine the logic of national defense.

Ihor Bondarchuk, chairman of the board of the Stop Corruption NGO, said that there are already signs of political activation in the regions, which can be interpreted as preparation for a potential election campaign. According to him, some politicians have returned to more active work in their constituencies, and civil society must closely monitor whether this activity turns into covert campaigning using administrative or financial resources.

“We are seeing a certain transformation, with political forces becoming more active and PR campaigns surrounding this. This is the first indicator. Therefore, it is not just discussion that is important, but also control and, in some cases, legislative regulation,” said Bondarchuk.

He stressed that the public sector must be prepared to monitor abuses right from the start of the upcoming election process. According to him, the Stop Corruption network in the regions makes it possible to quickly receive signals about the potential use of shadow funds, administrative resources, and other non-transparent mechanisms of political work.

“Our organization has 98 territorial divisions throughout Ukraine, so we can receive information from each region in real time. On our part, the issue is more about exposing and stopping abuses that are already taking place,” Bondarchuk said.

The head of the League of Energy Development of Ukraine, Oleksandr Golizdra, also spoke out against holding elections during the war, stressing that social solidarity remains a key condition for the country’s stability at present. In his opinion, full-fledged electoral competition during the war inevitably weakens this solidarity, but this does not negate the need to prepare amendments to the legislation now.

“Elections during wartime are impossible because one of the main themes of our struggle against the enemy is solidarity. And what kind of solidarity can there be when political forces and candidates compete with each other personally? But this does not negate the need to prepare changes to the legislation,” Golizdra said.

He separately emphasized the need for increased public control if the country does decide to move toward greater digitization of electoral procedures. In his opinion, this should not be a one-time oversight, but rather the professional and systematic participation of civil society organizations, volunteer networks, and trained observers in the development and control of new procedures.

Summing up the discussion, the participants agreed that Ukraine does not have a ready-made model for automatically transferring foreign experience, as the war has created unprecedented conditions for the state and the electoral system. At the same time, they stressed that preparations for post-war elections cannot be postponed: the state, parliament, CEC, civil society, journalists, and international partners must already be working on solutions that will allow elections to be held legitimately, safely, and with the widest possible participation of citizens.