On 12 March 2020, the Government of Ukraine introduced a quarantine in educational institutions to prevent the spread of  COVID-19. At that time, one case of  COVID-19 was confirmed in Ukraine and 48 cases were suspected. On 15 March 2020, parliamentary by-elections were conducted in the Kharkiv region within single mandate electoral district No. 179.

On 17 March 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine closed its borders for entry of foreigners and shut down international passenger air connection with Ukraine. Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro - cities with more than million inhabitants - suspended services of their underground railway systems. Shopping malls, restaurants, cafes and bars were shut down in Kyiv.

The same day, according to the results of the Central Election Commission, Ms Yulia Svitlychna was elected as a member of Parliament in single-mandate electoral district No.179 in the Kharkiv region. A self-nominated candidate received 77.54% of the voters’ votes. On 25 March, 10 days after parliamentary by-elections, the first case of coronavirus was laboratory-confirmed in the Kharkiv region, a situation of emergency was introduced all over Ukraine.

What should we expect next during ongoing quarantine in Ukraine? Will local elections be held on 25 October 2020 with due regard to the provisions of Article 141 of the Constitution of Ukraine laying down that local elections shall be held on the last Sunday of October of the fifth year of the office of the respective local council or mayor elected upon the results of the last regular elections? Oleg Didenko, the Chair of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, has answered these and other important questions.