Which elections can come first – presidential or parliamentary. Explanation by head of Rada subcommittee

Alina Zahoruiko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada and the head of the subcommittee on elections, believes that the Constitution stipulates that presidential and parliamentary elections should not be held simultaneously.

She said this in an interview with the Ukrainian News agency.

"The only thing I can say for sure is that I do not support holding both presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time. We have a Constitution. Its idea is that presidential and parliamentary elections are separated in time. One is held in October, the other in March. I would support this spirit of the Constitution," Zahoruiko noted.

She explained that the decision on the order of national elections after the end of martial law will be political and can be made both in government offices and in the session hall.

"Experts interpret the legislation differently. Some say: "if parliamentary elections were to be held first, then they should be held after the legal regime of martial law. Some say that presidential elections should be held first. It seems to me that this is a purely political issue," she added.

At the same time, Zahoruiko believes that combining one of the national elections with local elections is permissible.

According to her, such a combination is possible, although it will create an additional burden on the election administration bodies.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Zahoruiko believes that the first parliamentary elections after the end of martial law should be held under a closed proportional system.