Will there be online elections and mail-in voting in Ukraine? Here’s what officials in the Rada are saying about it.

Discussions and rumors regarding the government's preparations for conducting online elections are purely manipulative. This issue raises skepticism among citizens, much like mail-in voting.

This was stated by the head of the "Servant of the People" party, Elena Shulyak, in an interview with RBK-Ukraine.

"When we talk about online voting and the experiences of other countries, it must be an entirely independent system, which in our reality could be managed by the Central Election Commission (CEC). As far as I know, the CEC does not have its own 'Diia' for conducting elections," Shulyak noted.

According to her, Ukraine has particularly studied the experience of Estonia, which took 25 years to implement online voting. "How many years this will take for Ukraine, I think no one can say. Despite the fact that we are currently one of the most digital states in the world," the head of the "Servant of the People" remarked.

Moreover, as Shulyak pointed out, there is little trust in the issue of online elections among the public, just as there is with mail-in voting—only 8% of citizens would support such a format of expression.

"We can study the experiences (of different countries), but when it comes time to decide how to conduct the first post-war elections, public opinion will certainly be taken into account. It is very important for us that the elections are held in a clear democratic manner, so that the results of such elections are accepted by everyone in society," she explained.

It is worth noting that, according to a Razumkov Center survey, 33% of Ukrainians have a positive attitude towards the idea of introducing electronic voting in elections at all levels, including for president. A relative majority (42-43%) of respondents have a negative attitude towards internet elections.

The only group that predominantly supports electronic voting is young people aged 18 to 29 (52% are in favor while 27-30% are against).