PACE recognizes impossibility of holding elections during martial law – CEC
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a comprehensive resolution "Elections in Times of Crisis" aimed at protecting electoral processes in crisis conditions, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has said.
"PACE noted that elections are increasingly rare in 'normal' conditions. Polarization, disinformation, foreign interference, cyberattacks, climate threats and wars are shaping a new reality of the constant vulnerability of electoral processes in Europe and the world," the commission said on the website on Wednesday.
As noted, the main provisions of the resolution are based on the results of the 2023 Bern Parliamentary Conference "Elections in Times of Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities" during which Chairman of the Central Election Commission Oleh Didenko presented the key challenges for Ukrainian post-war elections.
"The resolution emphasizes that crises are no longer exceptional events: they have become a permanent structural challenge for modern democracy. This requires adaptation and resilience at all stages of the electoral process. The document is a call for states to develop frameworks and practices that would ensure safe elections, while protecting fundamental rights and maintaining public trust in electoral processes," the commission said.
The resolution also outlines Russia's full-scale aggressive war against Ukraine has caused unprecedented pressure on the member states of the Council of Europe and necessitated the application of exceptional measures to preserve democratic processes, renew national security concepts in general, and strengthen electoral security in particular.
PACE stated that the forced involvement of the civilian population of Ukraine in the temporarily occupied territories in the so-called "elections" organized by Russia is a gross violation of international law and completely negates any claims to their legitimacy.
At the same time, the document emphasizes that, according to international standards, it is impossible to hold elections during martial law. It specifically emphasizes the need for international support for Ukraine to prepare safe, inclusive and legitimate post-war elections, when appropriate conditions arise for their holding.
Chairman of the Central Election Commission Didenko said the PACE resolution "Elections in Times of Crisis" is an important document for Ukraine, both in terms of an objective assessment of the consequences of Russian aggression for democratic electoral processes, and as a guideline for preparing for post-war elections.
"The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in my opinion, objectively assessed the scale of the negative consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine for democratic electoral processes in Europe and the world and called for support for Ukraine in overcoming them," he said.
Didenko said that in Europe and the world, elections and citizens' electoral rights are facing new systemic challenges – foreignn interference, in particular disinformation, cyber threats, targeted undermining of voters' trust in the expression of will, as well as complicated security conditions for holding elections, under which it is especially important to prevent violations of voters' rights.
"Ukraine will probably also face these challenges in the post-war elections. That is why preparations for their prevention and neutralization have already begun: both at the parliamentary level through the activities of a special Working Group, and at the level of the Central Election Commission through the development and adoption of proposals for legislation on post-war elections, as well as through a systematic study of foreign practices in overcoming such challenges," he said.
Didenko also drew attention to the fact that the PACE resolution specifically emphasizes strengthening international election observation and improving its methodologies. The commission's chairman believes that it is important to use this PACE signal as a basis for a professional discussion on how to strengthen international observation by preventing malicious influence on legitimate missions by Russia and other anti-democratic regimes, as well as by systematically countering the phenomenon of "fake international observers" which Ukraine has repeatedly encountered in the temporarily occupied territories.
