CEC proposes 6-month preparatory period after end of martial law before start of electoral process

The Central Election Commission (CEC) proposes to establish a 6-month preparatory period after the end of martial law and before the start of the electoral process, said the head of the Commission, Oleh Didenko.

At the same time, the website reported on Wednesday that the timelines for the election process remain unchanged—90 days for the presidential elections in Ukraine and 60 days for the parliamentary elections.

"The preparatory period is needed, in particular, to assess the possibility of holding elections in certain territories, analyze the readiness of the electoral infrastructure considering the consequences of the war, conduct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ analysis and cost calculations for establishing additional overseas polling stations, ensure interaction between registries to update voter information, and implement other measures of the Central Election Commission," the statement said.

In addition, further liberalization of procedures for changing one’s electoral address and place of voting is proposed.

The commission suggests enshrining in law the provision that elections will not be organized or held on the territory of the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus, although Ukrainian voters from those countries will be able to vote in neighboring safe states.

The statement also emphasizes the need to ensure effective tools to counter foreign interference and to develop security protocols during the elections.