Ukraine needs at least six months to prepare for free and fair elections, Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Serhiy Dubovyk said in a comment to CNN, emphasizing that current conditions do not allow for organizing voting in accordance with international standards.
According to the UN, there are currently over 5.9 million Ukrainian refugees abroad. Another 4.4 million are internally displaced persons. Such a large-scale migration of the population makes updating and verifying voter lists an extremely difficult task and calls into question the accuracy of future elections.
The war has also significantly affected the electoral infrastructure. The Deputy Chairman of the CEC noted that only 75% of polling stations in Ukraine are operational, as some of them are destroyed, located in combat zones or temporarily occupied territories. This creates additional obstacles to the organization of the voting process.
One of the key factors, Dubovyk called the situation on the front: almost one million Ukrainians serve in the Armed Forces, a significant part of them directly on the front lines. “It is difficult to imagine how they will be able to vote without a guarantee of an end to hostilities,” he emphasized.
According to him, in order to ensure free and fair elections, Ukraine needs at least six months of preparation. If the vote is held earlier, "it will be impossible to fully guarantee compliance with all international standards."
On the eve, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that he had discussed with people's deputies the possibility of elections during martial law. The head of state emphasized that political and legal challenges must be answered within the country, while security challenges largely depend on international partners.
US President Donald Trump, in turn, called on Kyiv to hold elections despite the war. He said that Ukrainians should be given the opportunity to choose their leader and accused the Ukrainian authorities of using martial law to postpone the elections.
The discussion about the possibility of holding elections during a full-scale war continues, but the CEC emphasizes that without preparation and security guarantees, it is impossible to hold a fair vote.
