Ukrainian Parliament holds first working group meeting on elections

Cases of such interference have been widely observed during elections in Georgia and Romania. In Ukraine’s case, these risks are expected to be much higher, said Olena Shuliak, Deputy Head of the Working Group, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development, in an interview with Ukrinform.

According to Shuliak, on December 26, the first in a series of planned meetings of the special working group took place to prepare comprehensive legislative proposals on the organization and conduct of elections during a special period and/or post-war elections in Ukraine. One of the tasks is to assess the readiness of electoral infrastructure for such elections, as well as to develop legal mechanisms to prevent possible illegal interference in the electoral process.

Shuliak emphasized that this includes interference from Russia, as international experience, particularly in Georgia and Romania, shows that Russia may employ cyberattacks, voter bribery, candidate discrediting, and funding of loyal politicians on a large scale.

"There will be massive disinformation and various measures aimed at dividing society. There will be attempts to discredit and financially support pro-Russian groups or politicians and their teams. Therefore, we need to understand the measures we will implement in this area. I think it’s important to study the latest experiences from Georgia and Romania, as we have seen the consequences. We understand that in Ukraine, these cases will be much more numerous, and we will work to ensure that no pro-Russian media or individuals can influence our electoral processes," Shuliak said.

She also noted that according to an audit on the security situation for conducting safe post-war elections, carried out by the Civic Network OPORA, the readiness of communities in terms of electoral infrastructure is very low.

"Within the audit conducted in October–November this year, 11 communities were surveyed, most of which are de-occupied, border, or in the combat zone. These include Kramatorsk, Kherson, Nikopol, Novomykolaivka, Velykopysarivka, Olevsk, and Snovsk. According to the results, only three out of the 11 communities could potentially meet the basic criteria for physical security after the end of martial law," Shuliak said.

The data shows that none of the surveyed communities has 100% coverage of polling stations with shelters within a 500-meter radius. In addition, in frontline and de-occupied communities, over 50% of electoral infrastructure buildings are destroyed or damaged. In most communities, alert systems do not cover the entire population, and in some cases, they operate only in central settlements.

"Moreover, there are issues with the limited capacity of Central Election Commission members, as well as problems related to electricity supply, shelters, alert systems, and more. This is a huge set of indicators that need to be checked to assess the organizational capacity of each community. This will serve as a basis and guidance for our decision-making and understanding of processes directly in each community," Shuliak concluded.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that if the ratification of a peace agreement between Ukraine, the U.S., Russia, and Europe, if signed, requires a nationwide referendum, presidential election could be held alongside it. This could happen 60 to 90 days after the agreement is signed.

The Central Election Commission has reported that elections in Ukraine can only take place under corresponding peaceful conditions. Legislative changes are also needed to account for the specifics of post-war elections or elections after the active phase of hostilities ends.

Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk signed a decree to establish a working group to prepare a draft law on conducting elections during wartime. The group will include representatives from all parliamentary factions and groups, as well as civil society experts and CEC representatives.