Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the idea of holding elections in wartime, calling it irresponsible, amid recent talks on the need for 2024 presidential elections.
Martial law, declared in the country in February 2022 with the outbreak of war, prohibits authorities from holding elections, but debate over conducting them in March 2024 has intensified domestically and abroad.
In his evening video message, Zelensky reminded of importance to focus on the military problems Ukraine is facing.
“We all understand that now, in wartime, when there are many challenges, it is utterly irresponsible to engage in topics related to an election in such a frivolous manner. We need to recognise that this is a time for defence, a time for battle, upon which the fate of the state and its people depend… I believe that elections are not appropriate at this time.”
In peacetime, Ukraine would hold parliamentary elections in October and the first round of presidential elections in early spring of 2024.
US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and several other Western officials have called on Kyiv to hold elections to demonstrate that it can conduct a free and fair vote in times of war. However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated over the weekend that the president was weighing the pros and cons of wartime voting.
Zelensky himself previously claimed that he would be ready to hold the election if Ukraine received the necessary assistance and if it became necessary to hold it.
There is also a split in the country’s leadership after Ukraine’s top commanders stated that the war reached a stalemate. Zelensky categorically denied the statement over the weekend. He claimed it was crucial that government institutions fully supported the war effort, “not paving stones or street repairs.”
The president called for focusing “far more on defence…particularly at the regional level,” to prevent a repeat of a Russian attack on a Ukrainian brigade over the weekend that killed 19 soldiers.
Earlier, Zelensky called the attack in the southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast “a tragedy that could have been avoided.” Ukrainian media reported that the soldiers were killed during an award ceremony on Friday, although the circumstances remained unclear.
