Ukraine begins election preparations as Central Election Commission submits proposals

The Central Election Commission prepared proposals

At its meeting on Wednesday, January 7, the Central Election Commission approved proposals on the organization and conduct of nationwide elections after the completion or cancellation of martial law in Ukraine.

The proposals will be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) Committee on State Power Organization, Local Self-Government, and Regional Development, as well as to the Working Group on drafting legislation on elections during a special or postwar period.

The Commission notes that since the start of Russia's full-scale aggression, it has been studying potential risks and problems that may arise during postwar elections and seeking ways to address them.

The Commission prepared its first legislative proposal package back in September 2022.

Currently, work is continuing within three working groups dealing with:

• Updating voter data for postwar elections;

• Organizing voting for Ukrainians who are abroad on election day;

• Developing an action plan for preparing and conducting elections after the war.

Based on the results of this work, the Central Election Commission has prepared legislative proposals that take into account the specific features and potential risks of future presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine, which were not held due to martial law.

At the same time, the Commission states that it "in no way insists that the proposals it has put forward are the only possible solutions to the problems of postwar elections."

"On the contrary, we want them to become a stimulus or trigger for a broad discussion to find answers to the question of how, in postwar conditions, to ensure citizens' electoral rights and protect Ukrainian democratic elections from interference by the aggressor state," the Commission said.

The Central Election Commission's proposals also take into account Ukraine's European integration commitments and the European Commission's recommendations regarding postwar elections.

The Commission adds that it plans to continue working on updating the proposals and to facilitate discussion in parliament and within the Working Group.

Election working group meets for the second time

Today, January 8, the working group preparing legislative proposals on elections held its second meeting.

Its agenda covers two issues:

• The first concerns the specifics of organizing and conducting elections during a special period and postwar elections.
• The second concerns organizational matters related to forming subgroups to work on the draft law.

Traditionally, the meeting was opened by First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniyenko, who heads the election working group.

The working group on drafting laws for the organization and conduct of elections in Ukraine first met on December 26, 2025, and stated that it would convene as needed, but at least once every two weeks.

Election preparations in Ukraine

After remarks by White House head Donald Trump on the need to hold elections in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would be ready to conduct elections within 60–90 days after ensuring citizens' security and adopting the necessary legislative changes.

Among the key issues, he named voter security, participation of military personnel at the front, voting by Ukrainians abroad, and registration of internally displaced persons.

The immediate holding of elections in Ukraine is among the 20 points of the peace plan developed by Washington and Kyiv.

Currently, Ukraine is working on a mechanism for holding elections during the war or in the postwar period.

Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk has stated that a new law on elections during wartime will be a one-time measure and must guarantee the security and democratic nature of the process.

Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission has restored the State Voters Register. According to its data, there are a total of 33 million voters, but 5–7.5 million are abroad, and more than 1.4 million are not registered.

Head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction Davyd Arakhamia called the end of February a "desirable internal deadline" for preparing the draft law on elections under wartime conditions.

Zelenskyy, answering a question from RBC-Ukraine yesterday, January 7, clarified that everything depends on negotiations and reaching agreed decisions, and noted that work on amendments to election legislation could continue until February.