Ukraine’s parliament is continuing work on draft legislation that would regulate how elections could be conducted during a special period, First Deputy Speaker Oleksandr Kornienko said.
Speaking during a meeting of a parliamentary working group on election legislation on Thursday, Feb. 12, Kornienko said the group’s primary task is to prepare a document that could serve as the basis for future legal decisions, according to hromadske.
He stressed that there are currently no plans to hold elections in the immediate future, despite media speculation, and said the focus remains on developing a comprehensive legislative framework.
At a previous meeting, lawmakers divided the group into seven thematic subgroups tasked with drafting proposals on election administration and infrastructure, security criteria for holding elections, voting rights of servicemembers, participation of internally displaced persons and residents of occupied or frontline territories, voting by citizens abroad, information policy and campaigning, and international obligations related to European integration.
Kornienko added that the Central Election Commission is conducting parallel consultations with international partners.
The Financial Times, citing unnamed “Ukrainian and European officials involved in the planning as well as others briefed on the matter,” reported that Zelensky plans to announce preparations for presidential elections alongside a referendum on a potential peace agreement with Russia as early as Feb. 24 – on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Parliament, election commission prepare wartime voting framework
At the same time, Ukrainian authorities are continuing technical preparations for potential elections in a special or post-war period.
The cross-party group is drafting a one-time law that would regulate elections under martial law or immediately after it is lifted.
The working group, chaired by First Deputy Speaker Oleksandr Korniyenko, includes representatives of all parliamentary factions, civil society and the Central Election Commission (CEC).
The CEC has also approved a set of proposals outlining how nationwide elections could be organized after martial law ends.
The commission said its recommendations are intended to spark broader discussion on protecting electoral rights and shielding postwar elections from potential interference.