Current issues of the electoral process in Ukraine: correlation with international standards and post-war challenges

It is indicated that the social significance of elections is determined by their role as a fundamental element of the democratic system, reflecting the level of development of democratic processes in the state and contributing to the involvement of citizens in active political activity, overcoming their alienation from state power. The electoral process is a key instrument for the implementation by citizens of the constitutional right to participate in state governance and the formation of power structures, constituting an important aspect of a person’s political self-identification and legal consolidation of his right to state governance. Thus, the electoral system forms the boundaries and content of the political legal personality of Ukrainian citizens, determines the parameters of the political freedom of the individual and its autonomy in the process of democracy, regulates the relationship between voters and the Ukrainian state during the election of the President of Ukraine, the formation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and other local self-government bodies. This article provides a comprehensive review and analysis of current issues in the electoral process in Ukraine – both from the perspective of the situation caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the prospects for holding the first post-war elections, as well as in light of global trends in the development of electoral doctrine. The article identifies the main blocks of such issues, namely: a) determining the type of future post-war elections and the specifics of their scheduling; b) features of ensuring electoral rights for certain groups of citizens, as well as possible restrictions of such rights for other groups; c) infrastructural, regulatory, technical, and other needs of election administration bodies; d) existing gaps in current legislation; e) socio-political trends and the needs of civil society on the path to restoring the political process in Ukraine. Based on a detailed study of these issues, the article offers a number of proposals for possible solutions, with an emphasis on balancing voters’ interests, compliance with international electoral standards, and national security.