Kliuchkovskiy, YuriiVenher, Volodymyr2024-09-132024-09-132023Kliuchkovskiy Y. Organisation and Holding of Elections in Post-War Ukraine. Prerequisites and Challenges : Needs Assessment Report (updated in December 2023) / Yurii Kliuchkovskiy, Volodymyr Venher. - [S. l.] : Council of Europe, 2023. - 47 p.https://ekmair.ukma.edu.ua/handle/123456789/31553Ukraine has been facing armed aggression since February 2014. At the same time, the full-scale armed aggression that the Russian Federation launched against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the first such precedent after the Second World War, led to a number of new challenges and threats to the functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine. In addition to the efforts of the aggressor state to occupy and annex parts of the territory of Ukraine, it obviously intends to deny to the Ukrainian people the right to self determination, self-identification and statehood. This war can be considered the first war in Europe to be long fought by a democratic state governed by the rule of law on its own territory to defend its existence against foreign aggression. By adhering to the high idea of protecting and preserving democracy and the rule of law as the foundations of its constitutional order even in a defensive war on its territory, Ukraine has thus confirmed its modern role as a defender of these high ideals of European civilisation against the lawless attack of an authoritarian terrorist aggressor. Any war, and especially the defensive war of a nation that has been subjected to a brutal unprovoked and unexpected aggression, is a special condition of the state and society. War requires the state and society to mobilise all forces and resources to the maximum extent possible, redistribute them to ensure the priority of defence and protection of civilians, ensure maximum efficiency of management, speed of decisionmaking and its implementation, certain changes as to the priority of the national objectives, in particular, certain changes as to the priority of ensuring the rights of citizens, which, generally speaking, is Ukraine’s main goal in accordance with Article 3 of its Constitution, while preserving the democratic nature of power to the maximum extent possible and preventing authoritarian practices in public governance. War also does not mean that the state should inevitably renounce the rule of law: Ukraine maintains that even in times of war, all measures taken by democratic authorities to repel the aggression must still comply with the requirements of law. At the same time, the needs of defence, and particularly effective command and control, may require a certain narrowing of the scope of some democratic procedures. However, this does not mean a complete abandonment of democratic institutions and cannot lead to arbitrary actions of the government unless prescribed by law. In such circumstances, the functioning of democratic institutions must be adapted to the requirements and circumstances of war. Certain rights and freedoms can and should be restricted under martial law. Article 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine, in full compliance with Article 15 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, defines the permissible limits of such restrictions. At the same time, it is necessary to understand that these restrictions should ensure the preservation of the democratic nature of the country’s constitutional order. After the end of the war, the issue of full restoration of proper functions of the central and local authorities and free and fair elections will be a key one. The need to call, organise and hold elections in the post-war period requires gradual and systematic preparation now. The huge number of internally displaced persons, the severe and destructive nature of hostilities and terrorist attacks by the aggressor, the occupation of large areas of Ukraine and related demographic processes, the aggressor's large-scale information and propaganda campaign against Ukraine and other severe challenges require both doctrinal and practical consideration. This study is a general attempt at a systematic analysis of such problems and challenges that have been exacerbated by the war. The considerations presented here are based on a systematic study of international standards in the field of electoral law, Ukrainian national legislation, prospects for its change, which are the subject of public discourse in Ukraine, and the current state of affairs in Ukraine. The list of problems and tentative ways of solving them proposed by the authors obviously require further in-depth and detailed research, taking into account the development of the situation in and around Ukraine, the experience of other European states that have faced military conflicts in recent decades. At the same time, this material draws attention to the main problems of restoring full-fledged democratic functions of the Ukrainian state through the prism of challenges to the appointment, organisation and conduct of elections in the post-war period.enend of martial lawholding electionsrecording voter informationеnsuring passive suffragecompetitive electionssafety and securityReport