The Ukrainian National Lobbyists Association initiates the creation of a “Security Manifesto” for elections in post-war Ukraine
On January 16, 2026, a landmark public discussion organized by the Ukrainian National Lobbyists Association took place at the Ukrinform news agency, dedicated to the development of a roadmap for changes to the electoral legislation in the post-war period. Realizing its high responsibility to civil society, the Ukrainian Lobbyists Association launched a series of open roundtables that brought together the proactive community: Members of Parliament, leading political scientists, sociologists, economists, scientists and lawyers. The main outcome of the meeting was the identification of urgent problems and challenges of the electoral process and the development of the “Voter Security Manifesto”, a declaration of 10 key points that should ensure democratic, transparent and legitimate elections only if the security of life, data and voting results is guaranteed.
The discussion was moderated by Inna Silantieva, Doctor of Philosophy in Law, Associate Professor of the Department of Psychology and Social Work at the Khortytska National Training and Rehabilitation Academy, member of the Board of Diplomat Hub.
Oleksiy Shevchuk, Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Lobbyists of Ukraine, emphasized that security is not an alternative to democracy but a prerequisite for it, so preparing systemic changes to legislation will be a priority for the organization in the coming quarter.
Direct combatants joined the discussion and further development of mechanisms for resuming the electoral process: Oleh Petrenko, Head of the Headquarters Foundation of the Third Army Corps, and Mykola Minho, Donetsk airport defender (DAP cyborg) and Head of the All-Ukrainian Union of ATO Participants “Brothers of Ukraine”; local council members Hanna Svyrydenko, Kyiv City Council member, PhD in Law; and academics: Olga Susskaya – Doctor of Sociology, Professor, Oleksiy Buriachenko – Professor of KAI, President of the International Institute for Security Studies, Serhiy Petkov – Doctor of Law, Professor, Lieutenant Colonel, Yana Tsymbalenko – Associate Professor of the Department of Theory and Practice of Management of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Candidate of Science in Public Administration, Oleg Martselyak – Doctor of Law, Professor, Researcher at the V. M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law. Serhiy Godnyi, PhD in Political Science, Valentyn Hladkykh, PhD in Philosophy, Denys Silantiev, PhD in Pedagogy, MP of the VIII convocation; political scientists, sociologists and lawyers: Ilona Kaminska, PhD in Law, attorney at law; Vitaliy Bala, political strategist, political consultant, director of the Situation Modeling Agency; Natalia Lisnevska, attorney at law, specialist in medical law; Oleksandr Oliynyk, attorney at law; Iryna Shapovalova, member of the Board of the National Association of Lobbyists of Ukraine, attorney at law, Svitlana Kushnir – political analyst, economic observer, expert on strategic communications and information security, Olga Taniushkina – Member of the Board of the Diplomatic Legal Hub, Denys Bogush – Ukrainian political strategist, Denys Sviatokum – Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Dual Technology Cluster, member of the Board of the FEU.
The panelists were Nelli Yakovleva, Oleksandr Kachura, and Oleksandr Fediyenko, members of the Ukrainian Parliament.
The main points of the speech were made by MP Oleksandr Kachura:
“We listened to many constitutional experts (we are talking about the online meetings of the working group on the preparation of legislative proposals for elections in a special or post-war period, headed by the First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Kornienko), and they all strongly criticized the issue of holding elections during martial law. There was a proposal to remove the issue of holding elections during a special period, the issue of martial law, and so on. Because I am convinced that we should talk about post-war elections.”
MP Nelli Yakovleva noted that there is currently no set sequence for the upcoming elections. She also emphasized that security will remain the biggest challenge, in particular during voting abroad and the participation of the military.
“Even if we are talking about signing a security agreement, about our victory, or about the circumstances that will allow us to hold the election process, the security issue will remain key in any case. There is an ongoing discussion about whether it will be a single day of voting or whether we can afford to organize elections over several days. After all, we all understand that air raids will not stop even if a security or peace agreement is signed or a ceasefire is established,” she said.
MP Oleksandr Fediyenko noted:
“I can only voice my position now. My position is based on the fact that any elections in the current state of affairs simply cannot exist. And it is simply impossible to hold them either technologically or physically in any way.”
The Association plans to hold expert meetings on a regular basis to develop constructive recommendations for the parliament, taking into account the opinions of experts, civil society and building security recommendations that should ensure democratic, transparent and legitimate elections only if the security of life, data and voting results is guaranteed.
