Ukrainian presidential elections

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Ukrainian presidential elections determine who will serve as the President of Ukraine for the next five years. [1]

Contents

Since the establishment of the position of the President of Ukraine in 1991, presidential elections have taken place seven times: in 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2010, 2014 and 2019. The next election would have been scheduled for 2024; however, it was not held because of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine ongoing since 24 February 2022 and the resulting imposition of martial law in Ukraine, under which elections legally cannot be held. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Procedure

The presidential election rules are defined by the Constitution of Ukraine and the Electoral Code of Ukraine. [6]

Eligibility requirements

A candidate for the President's office must:

The same person cannot be elected President more than twice in a row. [1]

Nomination process

A candidate can be nominated by a political party or be self-nominated. [8]

Campaigning

A presidential candidate may start his or her election campaign the next day after he or she is registered by the Central Election Commission. [9]

The presidential election campaign ends at 24:00 of the last Friday before the election day. [9]

Regular presidential elections are held on the last Sunday of March [10] (formerly in October) of the fifth and last year of the incumbent President's term of office. If a president's term in office ends prematurely, the election of a new president must take place within ninety days of the president's office falling vacant. [11] [12]

The president is elected by direct popular vote in a two-round majoritarian contest. [13] If no candidate receives a simple majority (over 50%) of votes in the first round, the two candidates with the most votes advance to a run-off, [14] which is called for the third Sunday after the first round; [15] the candidate who receives more votes in the run-off is then elected president. [16]

If one of the two remaining candidates drops out at least 12 days before the run-off, the next-best candidate from the first round will advance into the second round instead. [17] If there is only one candidate left in the second round (e.g. if a candidate withdraws less than 12 days before the second round, or if there are no other candidates who can replace a candidate who has withdrawn), [18] the remaining candidate must win over 50% of the second-round vote to be elected president, or the election will be declared void. [19]

Voters must be Ukrainian citizens and at least 18 years old on the election day. [20]

There are no requirements for a minimum voter turnout. [21]

Until the 2010 election, Ukrainian voters had the option to vote "against all candidates"; however, this option was removed [22] in 2011 after changes to electoral legislation. [23]

Results

Where available, this table shows percentages as reported by the Central Election Commission of Ukraine; these may differ from percentages calculated based on the valid vote only.

First roundSecond round
YearWinnerRunner-upNo. of other candidatesWinnerRunner-upNotes
1991
4 [24]
-
-
Kravchuk won absolute majority in first round; no second round needed
1994
5 [25]
1999
11 [26]
As of 2024, the only successful re-election bid by an incumbent President of Ukraine
2004
22 [28]
After election fraud leading to Orange Revolution, second round invalidated by Supreme Court of Ukraine and re-run; table shows re-run results
2010
16 [30]
2014
19 [32]
-
-
Election originally scheduled for 2015, but brought forward after Revolution of Dignity; Poroshenko succeeded acting President Oleksandr Turchynov.
Poroshenko won absolute majority in first round; no second round needed
2019
37 [33]
Largest-ever margin as of 2024

Voter turnout

The highest voter turnout–84 percent–was recorded during the first election in December 1991. [35]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Article 103, Section V". Constitution of Ukraine. 1996.
  2. ↑ Про правовий режим воєнного стану [On the legal regime of martial law]. 2015. § 19.
  3. ↑ Reaney, Lee; Wasserman, Joel (2023-07-11). "Wartime Elections in Ukraine Are Impossible". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  4. ↑ Oz, Katerji (2023-11-17). "Zelensky Is Following Ukrainian Law in Postponing Elections". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  5. ↑ Yurii Kliuchkovskyi and Volodymyr Venher (July 2022). "Organisation and holding of elections in post-war Ukraine. Prerequisites and challenges". Council of Europe .
  6. ↑ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019.
  7. ↑ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 75.
  8. ↑ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 98.
  9. 1 2 "IFES answers FAQs about Ukraine's presidential election". Kyiv Post . 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  10. ↑ "Presidential election in Ukraine in 2019: what needs to be known". Ukrinform. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  11. ↑ The Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press. Current Digest of the Soviet Press. 2009.
  12. ↑ Ingmar Bredies; Andreas Umland; Valentin Yakushik (22 November 2007). Aspects of the Orange Revolution III. Columbia University Press. pp. 146–. ISBN   978-3-8382-5803-4.
  13. ↑ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 74.
  14. ↑ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 127, part 5.
  15. ↑ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 128, parts 1-2.
  16. ↑ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 128, part 18.
  17. ↑ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 128, part 3.
  18. ↑ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 128, part 4.
  19. ↑ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 128, part 19-20.
  20. ↑ "Article 70, Section III". Constitution of Ukraine. 1996.
  21. ↑ "Ukraine elections: Runners and risks". BBC News. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  22. ↑ "Вибір заради протесту: чому українців позбавили можливості голосувати проти всіх [The choice for the sake of protest: why Ukrainians were deprived of the opportunity to vote against everyone]". Слово і Діло (in Ukrainian). 29 January 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  23. ↑ Kushnir, Lyudmila (31 March 2019). "Чому немає пункту "проти всіх" та як це вплине на президентські вибори [Why is there no "against all" option and how will it affect the presidential elections?"". 24 Канал (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  24. 1 2 3 Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: a data handbook. Baden-Baden, Germany: Nomos. p. 1993. ISBN   9783832956097.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Kuzio, Taras (June 1996). "Kravchuk to Kuchma: The Ukrainian presidential elections of 1994". Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics. 12 (2): 130–131. doi:10.1080/13523279608415306. ISSN   1352-3279.
  26. 1 2 3 "Результати голосування 31.10.1999 року [Voting results of October 31, 1999]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  27. 1 2 "Підсумки голосування 14.11.1999 року [Results of the voting on November 14, 1999]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  28. 1 2 3 "The Elections of the President of Ukraine, 31 October, 2004". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  29. 1 2 "The Elections of the President of Ukraine. Repeating voting, 26 December, 2004". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  30. 1 2 3 "Чергові вибори Президента України 17.01.2010 [Regular elections of the President of Ukraine on January 17, 2010]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  31. 1 2 "Повторне голосування виборів Президента України 07.02.2010 [Repeat voting of the presidential elections of Ukraine 07.02.2010]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  32. 1 2 3 "Позачергові вибори Президента України 25.05.2014 [Extraordinary elections of the President of Ukraine on 25.05.2014]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  33. 1 2 3 "Вибори Президента України 2019 [Presidential elections of Ukraine 2019]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  34. 1 2 "Вибори Президента України 2019 [Presidential elections of Ukraine 2019]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  35. ↑ "Явочным порядком.Почему социологи предрекают высокую явку избирателей в день голосования 31 марта". Focus. 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
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