Ukraine has gone seven years without national elections, a consequence of the war that nevertheless affects the rule of law.

Omissions

• The postponement is not discretionary: Ukrainian law/constitution prohibits holding national elections during martial law, which is why the scheduled 2023 parliamentary and March 2024 presidential elections were not held — this legal context is relevant to the speaker's rule-of-law framing.
• The war itself began in February 2022; had there been no war, elections would have been due in 2023/2024, so the seven-year gap is indeed a consequence of martial law imposed because of the war, as the speaker states.
• The Guardian article (20 February 2025) confirming the constitutional prohibition was published before the session date; OSCE/ODIHR sources document the 2019 election dates.

Sources

• PrimaryOSCE/ODIHR — Presidential Election, 31 March and 21 April 2019Presidential Election, 31 March and 21 April 2019 — the last presidential election in Ukraine, held on 31 March 2019 with a second round on 21 April 2019, won by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• PrimaryOSCE/ODIHR — Early Parliamentary Elections, 21 July 2019Early Parliamentary Elections, 21 July 2019 — the last parliamentary (Verkhovna Rada) election in Ukraine, held on 21 July 2019.
• SecondaryThe Guardian — 'Why hasn't Ukraine held elections since the war began?'Under Ukraine's constitution, it is not legal to hold national elections during a period of martial law; Ukraine has not held national elections since the war began, with martial law extended since the February 2022 invasion.
• SecondaryABC News — 'Ukraine parliament affirms no elections during wartime in rebuff to Trump'Ukraine's parliament affirmed that no elections will be held during wartime; the resolution rebuffs calls for elections while Ukraine remains under martial law imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion.