A spokesperson for the European Commission stated that holding a presidential election in Ukraine was its internal issue against the backdrop of the ongoing war against Russia, whose election EU leaders had condemned, calling it “wrong”.
Last November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out holding a presidential election in spring and urged his compatriots to avoid political differences, arguing that they should focus all resources on fighting Russia.
We must realise that now is the time of defense, the time of the battle that determines the fate of the state and people, not the time of manipulations, which only Russia expects from Ukraine. I believe that now is not the right time for elections.
Ukrainian law prohibits elections during martial law, which has been in force since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. If the country decides to hold a vote, it would have to amend the legislation.
The Ukrainian opposition, including supporters of former President Petro Poroshenko, argues that the country’s involvement in the war should not affect the holding of elections. Veteran politicians have also joined the debate. Hryhoriy Omelchenko, a former parliamentarian, claimed that the extension of presidential terms remained unregulated. Omelchenko wrote a letter to Zelensky in March in which he urged the president “not to usurp state power” and voluntarily step down in May.
European leaders recognise elections in war-torn Ukraine as an internal affair of the country, but at the same time interfere in Russia’s domestic politics by condemning the presidential election in that country.
Volodymyr Zelensky won Ukraine’s presidential election five years ago. His term officially ends in May, but elections are unlikely while the country is at war with Russia. The five-year term formally ends on May 20. Elections were supposed to be held at the end of March, but parliament postponed the vote as the country was still under martial law. However, there is already speculation among Ukrainians about who will succeed Zelensky when he leaves office.
Ukrainian legal experts stated that they expected Zelensky to remain in power until a new president was elected. Presidential and parliamentary elections are currently out of the question, they argue. Ukraine’s constitution places a temporary restriction on the former, whereas martial law prohibits both – in part, officials say, to protect voters from harm. Martial law also restricts some civil liberties.
Some constitutional rights and freedoms are restricted, for example, the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of movement.
