Why elections can't be held during wartime - Andrey Magera

Elections and large-scale warfare. It is important to note that after World War II, there are common (fundamental) principles of electoral law for the democratic world, which they agreed upon in international documents – the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, and the (European) Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950.

Typically, these principles are also enshrined, and sometimes expanded, in the constitutions of sovereign states around the globe.

For instance, the principle of universal suffrage implies the right to vote for all voters, including migrants and refugees.

The principle of free elections includes two vital elements: the ability for voters to freely form their political will; and the ability for voters to freely express their political will.

Without coercion, deception, bribery, and so on.

Therefore, during large-scale hostilities, it is impossible to implement these two principles (out of the five existing constitutional principles).

Consequently, a process that is not based on the fundamental principles of electoral law cannot be considered an election.

This will lead to questions of legitimacy (recognition) of such elections both domestically and internationally.

I will not delve into other equally significant risks, particularly regarding societal unity during hypothetical "elections" amid active external aggression from Russia.

However, these points seem to be self-evident.

Analysts, particularly from the Center for Political and Legal Reforms, the Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Studies named after Alexander Razumkov, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the Civil Network "Opora," and the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, elaborate on this in greater detail.