Since 2018 there was no national legislation on referendums. This legal vacuum seriously restricted the citizens’ right to participate in public affairs through a referendum provided for in Article 38 of the Constitution of Ukraine. The new Verkhovna Rada elected in 2019 decided to address this problem as a matter of priority and created a specific Working group for the development of draft laws in the field of democracy. The first draft was prepared in March 2020 and submitted for public consultations from April to May 2020. Several important proposals and recommendations from different national stakeholders were introduced into the final draft (N° 3612), which was introduced by President Zelenskyy to the Rada on 9 June. On 18 June the Verkhovna Rada adopted the text in first reading.