Zelensky called elections during the war "a tsunami for the state."
The President said that partners did not offer security guarantees
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that holding elections during the war remains impossible, since none of the Western partners has proposed a concrete mechanism that would guarantee the security of voting.
The head of state said this while speaking with journalists, reports “Suspilne”.
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he is ready to discuss elections on the condition that partners offer clear guarantees for all categories of citizens — servicemembers, residents of frontline territories, and Ukrainians who left the country because of the war.
“My position was clear: if partners offer us concrete conditions under which it would be possible to safely, legitimately and democratically hold elections in Ukraine — with the participation of servicemembers, in frontline territories, abroad, where millions of our citizens fled to escape the war, safely — that is, without strikes and shelling — then let’s discuss it.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that the Russian leader Vladimir Putin currently does not agree to any of the ceasefire options. Until this position changes, holding elections, in the president’s view, is impossible.
“I believe that during such a war elections overall are a great risk. Elections right now would be a tsunami for the state that would split Ukraine. Therefore my strategy is to bring the country to the end of the war and to preserve an independent and sovereign state. And I am carrying it out.”
Earlier, former defense minister of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, urged finding a legal mechanism that would allow elections to be held even during a prolonged war.
Earlier we wrote:
- Mykhailo Fedorov called to develop a mechanism for holding elections in Ukraine during the war
- Elections in question: Arakhamia admitted that the process can be delayed for years
- 20 billion for ballots: elections in Ukraine could become the most expensive in history
- Donbas — not for trade: Zelensky firmly outlined the red lines
- “More likely yes than no,” — Kim hinted at the possibility of participating in the presidential elections
