Ukrainian presidential elections

In this article, we are going to explore the fascinating world of Ukrainian presidential elections. Whether it's a topic, a person, or a date, Ukrainian presidential elections has a significant impact on our society. Throughout history, Ukrainian presidential elections has played a vital role in shaping our culture and the way we understand the world around us. Through this article, we will discover the importance of Ukrainian presidential elections and its influence on various aspects of daily life. Get ready to immerse yourself in a unique and exciting journey to better understand Ukrainian presidential elections!

For the most recent election, see 2019 Ukrainian presidential election.
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Ukrainian presidential elections determine who will serve as the President of Ukraine for the next five years.[1]

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.[2][3][4][5]

Procedure

The presidential election rules are defined by the Constitution of Ukraine and the Electoral Code of Ukraine.[6]

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 (Ukrainian);
  • have lived in Ukraine for the last ten years prior to election day.[1][7]

The same person cannot be elected President more than twice in a row.[1]

Nomination process

A candidate can be nominated by a political party or be self-nominated.[8]

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.[9]

The presidential election campaign ends at 24:00 of the last Friday before the election day.[9]

Regular presidential elections are held on the last Sunday of March[10] (formerly in October) 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.[11][12]

The president is elected by direct popular vote in a two-round majoritarian contest.[13] If no candidate receives a simple majority (over 50%) of votes in the first round, the two candidates with the most votes advance to a run-off,[14] which is called for the third Sunday after the first round;[15] the candidate who receives more votes in the run-off is then elected president.[16]

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.[17] If there is only one candidate left in the second round (e.g. if a candidate withdraws less than 12 days before the second round, or if there are no other candidates who can replace a candidate who has withdrawn),[18] the remaining candidate must win over 50% of the second-round vote to be elected president, or the election will be declared void.[19]

Voters must be Ukrainian citizens and at least 18 years old on the election day.[20]

There are no requirements for a minimum voter turnout.[21]

Until the 2010 election, Ukrainian voters had the option to vote "against all candidates"; however, this option was removed[22] in 2011 after changes to electoral legislation.[23]

Results

Where available, this table shows percentages as reported by the Central Election Commission of Ukraine; these may differ from percentages calculated based on the valid vote only.

References for results can be found in the "year" column
First round Second round
Year Winner Runner-up No. of other candidates Winner Runner-up Notes
1991
[24]
Leonid Kravchuk
Independent
61.59%
Viacheslav Chornovil
Rukh
23.27%
4
-
-
 Kravchuk won absolute majority in first round; no second round needed
1994
[25]
Leonid Kuchma
Independent
37.72%
Leonid Kravchuk
Independent
31.27%
5
Leonid Kuchma
Independent
52.10%
Leonid Kravchuk
Independent
45.06%
1999
[26][27]
Leonid Kuchma
Independent
36.49%
Petro Symonenko
KPU
22.24%
11
Leonid Kuchma
Independent
56.25%
Petro Symonenko
KPU
37.80%
 As of 2025, the only successful re-election bid by an incumbent President of Ukraine
2004
[28][29]
Viktor Yushchenko
Independent (Our Ukraine Bloc)
39.90%
Viktor Yanukovych
Party of Regions
39.26%
22
Viktor Yushchenko
Independent (Our Ukraine Bloc)
51.99%
Viktor Yanukovych
Party of Regions
44.20%
 After election fraud leading to Orange Revolution, second round invalidated by Supreme Court of Ukraine and re-run; table shows re-run results
2010
[30][31]
Viktor Yanukovych
Party of Regions
35.32%
Yulia Tymoshenko
Batkivshchyna
25.05%
16
Viktor Yanukovych
Party of Regions
48.95%
Yulia Tymoshenko
Batkivshchyna
45.47%
 Incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko eliminated in first round with 5% of vote
2014
[32]
Petro Poroshenko
Independent (UDAR)
54.70%
Yulia Tymoshenko
Batkivshchyna
12.81%
19
-
-
 Election originally scheduled for 2015, but brought forward after Revolution of Dignity; Poroshenko succeeded acting President Oleksandr Turchynov.
Poroshenko won absolute majority in first round; no second round needed
2019
[33][34]
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Servant of the People
30.24%
Petro Poroshenko
Independent (BPP)
15.95%
37
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Servant of the People
73.23%
Petro Poroshenko
Independent (BPP)
24.45%
 Largest-ever margin as of 2025

Voter turnout

The highest voter turnout–84 percent–was recorded during the first election in December 1991.[35]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Article 103, Section V". Constitution of Ukraine. 1996.
  2. ^ Про правовий режим воєнного стану [On the legal regime of martial law]. 2015. § 19.
  3. ^ Reaney, Lee; Wasserman, Joel (2023-07-11). "Wartime Elections in Ukraine Are Impossible". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  4. ^ Oz, Katerji (2023-11-17). "Zelensky Is Following Ukrainian Law in Postponing Elections". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  5. ^ Yurii Kliuchkovskyi and Volodymyr Venher (July 2022). "Organisation and holding of elections in post-war Ukraine. Prerequisites and challenges". Council of Europe.
  6. ^ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019.
  7. ^ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 75.
  8. ^ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 98.
  9. ^ a b "IFES answers FAQs about Ukraine's presidential election". Kyiv Post. 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  10. ^ "Presidential election in Ukraine in 2019: what needs to be known". Ukrinform. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  11. ^ The Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press. Current Digest of the Soviet Press. 2009.
  12. ^ Ingmar Bredies; Andreas Umland; Valentin Yakushik (22 November 2007). Aspects of the Orange Revolution III. Columbia University Press. pp. 146–. ISBN 978-3-8382-5803-4.
  13. ^ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 74.
  14. ^ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 127, part 5.
  15. ^ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 128, parts 1-2.
  16. ^ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 128, part 18.
  17. ^ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 128, part 3.
  18. ^ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 128, part 4.
  19. ^ Electoral Code of Ukraine. 2019. § 128, part 19-20.
  20. ^ "Article 70, Section III". Constitution of Ukraine. 1996.
  21. ^ "Ukraine elections: Runners and risks". BBC News. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  22. ^ "Вибір заради протесту: чому українців позбавили можливості голосувати проти всіх [The choice for the sake of protest: why Ukrainians were deprived of the opportunity to vote against everyone]". Слово і Діло (in Ukrainian). 29 January 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  23. ^ Kushnir, Lyudmila (31 March 2019). "Чому немає пункту "проти всіх" та як це вплине на президентські вибори [Why is there no "against all" option and how will it affect the presidential elections?"". 24 Канал (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  24. ^ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: a data handbook. Baden-Baden, Germany: Nomos. p. 1993. ISBN 9783832956097.
  25. ^ Kuzio, Taras (June 1996). "Kravchuk to Kuchma: The Ukrainian presidential elections of 1994". Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics. 12 (2): 130–131. doi:10.1080/13523279608415306. ISSN 1352-3279.
  26. ^ "Результати голосування 31.10.1999 року [Voting results of October 31, 1999]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Підсумки голосування 14.11.1999 року [Results of the voting on November 14, 1999]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  28. ^ "The Elections of the President of Ukraine, 31 October, 2004". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  29. ^ "The Elections of the President of Ukraine. Repeating voting, 26 December, 2004". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  30. ^ "Чергові вибори Президента України 17.01.2010 [Regular elections of the President of Ukraine on January 17, 2010]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  31. ^ "Повторне голосування виборів Президента України 07.02.2010 [Repeat voting of the presidential elections of Ukraine 07.02.2010]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  32. ^ "Позачергові вибори Президента України 25.05.2014 [Extraordinary elections of the President of Ukraine on 25.05.2014]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  33. ^ "Вибори Президента України 2019 [Presidential elections of Ukraine 2019]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  34. ^ "Вибори Президента України 2019 [Presidential elections of Ukraine 2019]". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  35. ^ "Явочным порядком.Почему социологи предрекают высокую явку избирателей в день голосования 31 марта". Focus. 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-04-11.