The challenges of holding a vote in wartime are both small and big—and often unexpected, says analyst Fabrice Deprez.
As discussions heat up over whether Ukraine should hold elections in wartime, a selection of Ukrainian officials, civil society activists,* members of parliament, and business representatives have already started brainstorming the country’s next vote, she writes in Ukraine Is Already Working on Its Next Election, an article for Foreign Policy.
“It’s a lot of discussions, several working groups where we try to find solutions and make recommendations,” said Olha Aivazovska (above), the head of the board of the Ukrainian election-monitoring NGO OPORA.
It might seem like a huge distraction at the height of a full-scale war, not to mention a logistical nightmare: holding a presidential election as Russian missiles fly into the Ukrainian capital and artillery assaults reduce whole towns to ruins, Andrew E. Kramer reports for The New York Times:
But President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has not ruled it out. His five-year term ends in several months, and if not for the war, he would be preparing to either step down or campaign for a second term. Analysts consider the possibility of wartime balloting a long shot, and under martial law, elections in Ukraine are suspended. Still, there is talk among Kyiv’s political class that Mr. Zelensky might seek a vote, with far-reaching implications for his government, the war and political opponents, who worry he will lock in a new term in an environment when competitive elections are all but impossible.
“The first step is victory; the second step is everything else,” including a revival of domestic politics in Ukraine, said Serhiy Prytula, an opposition figure and the director of a charity assisting the military (right).- “Ukraine’s commitment to democracy is not in question, and being forced to postpone elections due to war doesn’t change this,” said Peter Erben, the Ukraine director of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).
- “A scheduled election isn’t necessary for our democracy,” said OPORA’s Aivazovska. There is no means now for refugees, frontline soldiers and residents of occupied territory to vote, she told The Times. An election in “the hot phase of the war” would almost certainly undermine, not reinforce, Mr. Zelensky’s legitimacy, she said.
*Including partners of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
