Ukrainian presidential elections
Ukrainian presidential elections determine who will serve as the President of Ukraine for the next five years.
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.
Procedure
The presidential election rules are defined by the Constitution of Ukraine and the Electoral Code of Ukraine.Eligibility requirements
A candidate for the President's office must:- be a citizen of Ukraine;
- be at least 35 years of age on the election day;
- have the right to vote;
- speak the official language ;
- have lived in Ukraine for the last ten years prior to election day.
Nomination process
A candidate can be nominated by a political party or be self-nominated.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.The presidential election campaign ends at 24:00 of the last Friday before the election day.
Popular vote
Regular presidential elections are held on the last Sunday of March 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.The president is elected by direct popular vote in a two-round majoritarian contest. If no candidate receives a simple majority of votes in the first round, the two candidates with the most votes advance to a run-off, which is called for the third Sunday after the first round; the candidate who receives more votes in the run-off is then elected president.
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. If there is only one candidate left in the second round, the remaining candidate must win over 50% of the second-round vote to be elected president, or the election will be declared void.
Voters must be Ukrainian citizens and at least 18 years old on the election day.
There are no requirements for a minimum voter turnout.
Until the 2010 election, Ukrainian voters had the option to vote "against all candidates"; however, this option was removed in 2011 after changes to electoral legislation.