Who can be disqualified to stand for elections in the post-conflict period, and how

Demographic and migration crises are some of the major challenges caused by the full-scale invasion. In fact, the Kremlin has sent Ukraine's human capital situation into a steep dive. However, demographic problems are not new for our country, they have been challenging us for a long time now.  The 1990s optimistic advertising slogan of “We are 52 million” has never been true to fact. Today, it looks like from a different reality.

At the same time, in the foreign information space and on various discussion platforms in democratic countries all over the world, messages are shared on a rolling basis, trying to pressure Ukraine to hold elections in conditions of war. This position is supported by the fact that Russia is holding its "elections." Therefore, we need to explain why the Russian elections have nothing to do with a genuine democratic vote, and therefore, they do not lead to the formation of legitimate authorities not only in the occupied territories but also throughout Russia. With this in view, we need to focus on three key points.

We kindly invite you to the online expert discussion "Is the king naked? Presidential race in Russia - a question of legitimacy and international recognition" on 14 March 2024 at 4pm (CET).

On March 15-17, 2024, Russia plans to hold so-called presidential election, in particular, in the occupied territories of Ukraine. As seen during the previous 10 years of Russian occupation of certain areas of the Donbas region, this election will be used as an attempt to legalize the annexation of invaded territories. However, involvement of local population in pseudo-election process in the conditions of armed hostilities, which may lead to civilian casualties, violates the international humanitarian law concerning protection of the civilian population during an armed conflict and may be qualified as a war crime. The above comments were made by Civil Network OPORA’s lawyer during an interview with online media outlet “Novyny Donbasu”.

29 listopada b.r. na zaproszenie Ambasady Brytyjskiej i Fundacji im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego miałam zaszczyt zaprezentować działalność naszego Centrum Pomocy w Dokumentowaniu Zbrodni Wojennych podczas konferencji "Sprawiedliwość dla Ukrainy", która odbyła się w Muzeum Historii Polski na terenie Cytadeli Warszawskiej. Nasze Centrum zostało otwarte w stolicy Polski we wrześniu ubiegłego roku z inicjatywy Sieci Obywatelskiej OPORA. 

Offener Brief “Unterstützung der Ukraine”

More than 20 representatives of expert organisations, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and well-known public figures such as Serhiy Zhadan ask Scholz to develop a long-term uncompromising strategy for Ukraine's victory and to provide the Taurus without delay. Other calls include support for the creation of a special tribunal against the aggressor, a formal invitation to join NATO at the 2024 summit in Washington, and tougher sanctions.

October 2023 was rich in foreign policy events and geopolitical shifts. Lack of consensus in the USA about further support to Ukraine, election of a pro-Russian government in Slovakia, unbending pro-Kremlin policy in Hungary, and intensified hostilities in the Middle East may affect the agenda in the Russia-Ukraine war.

With the approach of constitutionally established period for scheduling the parliamentary and presidential elections, the debate on the possibility of conduct of elections under conditions of martial law is heating up both in Ukraine and among our international partners. Civil network OPORA and more than 200 other NGOs have already taken a stand against the proposal to hold elections during the Russian invasion. According to Civil network OPORA, conduct of election under martial law violates the Constitution of Ukraine and runs counter to Ukraine’s international commitments.