On March 31, 2026, Razumkov Center's research fellow on legal issues, retired judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine P. Stetsiuk took part in the forum "The First Post-War Elections in Ukraine: In Search of a Balance of Freedom, Justice and Security". The event was organized by the OPORA Public Network together with the Department of Constitutional Law of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv with support from the British Embassy office in Lviv.
The Forum was attended by experts in the field of electoral law, legal scholars, political scientists, retired judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and practitioners from the state authorities and local self-government bodies.
Taking part in the panel discussion “Political and legal prerequisites for post-war elections in Ukraine”, P. Stetsiuk drew the attention of the forum participants to the content and essence of the constitutional provision that “Voters are guaranteed the free expression of their will” (Part 2, Article 71 of the Constitution of Ukraine).
According to the expert, this provision of Part 2 of Article 71 of the Basic Law, according to which “voters are guaranteed free expression of will”, applies to all Ukrainian voters without exception, refers to all types of elections in Ukraine and, accordingly, encompasses the entire constitutionally defined territory of Ukraine.
Hence, in the complex post-war realities of the first post-war elections in Ukraine, the main emphasis in terms of “guaranteeing free expression of will to voters” will be on the voters’ personal safety.
“The failure to see or to take into account”, even partially, the constitutional prescription of Part 2, Article 71 of the Basic Law of the State when drafting regulatory acts for the first post-war elections may bear serious grounds for recognizing them as inconsistent with the Constitution of Ukraine.
https://razumkov.org.ua/en/news/participation-in-the-forum-the-first-post-war-elections-in-ukraine-in-search-of-a-balance-of-freedom-justice-and-security#sigProId0510430351
