Post-war elections outside the Kremlin's interests: what Ukraine must do now
In the context of the discussion about territorial concessions and elections, following the meeting between the Ukrainian and American delegations. If the real interest of the Secretary of State and the United States is to protect Ukraine's sovereignty and lasting peace, then there should be no elections to please Russian interests in these dialogues.
Any political reboot must take place under conditions of stable security guarantees and on a prepared basis (law, practices, and infrastructure). This will protect Ukraine from Russian influence, technologies, money, and provocations during the campaign (from terrorist to political).
Elections are added as a point in agreements when it comes to internal conflict and civil wars, and not as a result of the crime of aggression committed by a neighbor.
What Ukraine really needs to do now to avoid being late with its ability to protect the political process from Moscow:
Official parliamentary group on the special law on the first post-war elections. This is a complex process if the government, the opposition, and experts are involved, but a framework already exists here, beyond geopolitical agreements surrounding the war. This is the Roadmap for the functioning of democratic institutions and the recommendations of the European Commission based on the assessment of Ukraine's fulfillment of its obligations as an EU member state.
There is no hand of Moscow here – only the interest of society and the state to move in a Western direction and protect their own electoral democracy. This will also overcome the conflict between the government and the opposition regarding post-war elections, which is bound to arise if all the work is done behind the scenes.
Audit of the State Register of Voters, creating a system for verifying their data, changing the election address for internally displaced persons and Ukrainians abroad, and active voter registration.
Migration processes of cosmic proportions, which Ukraine has never dealt with before, can only be qualitatively processed if every voter has the opportunity to declare and realize their political will in advance of the elections. If the change of electoral address is carried out during the campaign, no system will be able to digest this scale.
The state will also have proper statistics on how many voters are abroad and where exactly polling stations need to be opened.
Guarantees of electoral rights all categories of citizens, including military personnel, and not only the active right to vote, but also the right to be elected.
Safety and organizational preparation will affect the quality and trust in the process as much as possible. Every participant in the process (from voter to organizer) must understand the basic security and response protocols, as there will be many forms of influence and disruption, including terrorist threats, Russian money, and informational influences.
There are about a hundred of these points, but let's start with the apolitical and basic ones. There is a lot of work to be done.
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