Why Ukraine can't hold elections during war: Zelenskyy's answer
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
There are several reasons that make holding elections during wartime impossible. Among them is, for instance, the need for appropriate changes in legislation, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"To hold elections during wartime in Ukraine, there has to be a change of the relevant legislation. Elections cannot be held during wartime," explained the president.
According to Zelenskyy, among other reasons are:
- a need to respect the military who are currently on the front lines and should also have the right to express their will during elections;
- a separate infrastructure is necessary to allow 7 million Ukrainians who are currently abroad to participate in voting.
Elections in Ukraine
At the end of July 2023, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, explained that the Constitution of Ukraine does not prohibit holding elections during war. However, the prohibition is contained in the Law "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law." This also applied to parliamentary elections, which were supposed to take place on October 29 of the same year. Presidential elections were planned for the end of March 2024.
In early February, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksii Danilov, warned that Russian propaganda would use the topic of presidential elections to destabilize Ukraine.
