Ukrainian presidential elections


Ukrainian presidential elections determine who will serve as the President of Ukraine for the next five years.
Since the establishment of the position of the President of Ukraine in 1991, the presidential elections have taken place seven times: in 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2010, 2014 and 2019.

Procedure

The presidential election rules are defined by the Ukrainian Constitution and the Ukrainian law "On the Elections of the President of Ukraine" from 25 March 1999.

Eligibility requirements

A candidate for the President's office must:
The same person cannot be elected President more than twice in a row.

Nominating process

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

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

Popular vote

Regular presidential elections are held on the last Sunday of March of the fifth 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 previous president leaving office.
The president is elected by direct popular vote in a two-round majoritarian contest: if no candidate receives a simple majority of the votes in the first round, the two candidates with the most votes advance to a run-off. The second round is held within two weeks after the first. If one of the two remaining candidates drops out of the race less than 12 days before the second round, the other must still win over 50% of the second-round vote to be elected President.
The voter must be a Ukrainian citizen and be at least 18 years old on the election day.
There are no requirements for a certain minimum voter turnout.

List of Ukrainian presidential elections

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