In a significant move, the Ukrainian parliament decided on Thursday to extend martial law and implement general mobilization.
This decision will subsequently delay the parliamentary elections which were initially due to take place in October.
With martial law now extended to November 15, the scheduled election has been unavoidably postponed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has incorrectly claimed that holding elections during martial law is constitutionally impossible.
He reaffirmed this stance in an interview with The Washington Post in May, stating, “If we have martial law, we cannot have elections. The constitution prohibits any elections during martial law. If there is no martial law, then there will be.”
However, Ukraine’s constitution does not explicitly prohibit holding elections during martial law, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (the Ukrainian parliament) Ruslan Stefanchuk has clarified.
“There is no such ban [on holding elections during martial law] in the Constitution. This ban is contained in the law of Ukraine On the legal regime of martial law. And therefore, there is no constitutional ban on holding elections during martial law,” Stefanchuk told the Ukrainian television network Rada.
Read the Ukrainian constitution below:
Martial law in Ukraine was first proclaimed by President Zelensky on February 24, 2022, in response to Russia’s invasion.
Ever since, the law has been successively prolonged in response to the ongoing conflict, with indications that it will be extended for as long as the hostilities persist.
The decision taken on Thursday stipulates a further extension of martial law and general mobilization for an additional 90 days.
Originally due to expire on August 18, the new timeline pushes the end date to November 15.
Consequently, this could also impact the upcoming presidential election, due in March 2024, if the war is still underway.
Under Ukraine’s martial law, men within the age bracket of 18-60 are prohibited from exiting the country.
As part of the actions implemented under martial law since its inception in March 2022, President Zelensky outlawed 11 opposition parties and placed television media under state control.
The Ukrainian government has also seized authority over several businesses, invoking wartime jurisdiction.
