VIDEO. War in Ukraine: “Now is not the time for elections,” Zelensky said

“Now is not the time for elections” in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, November 6, as the country debates whether to keep or abandon presidential elections scheduled for 2024. “We must understand that the time has come for defense, for a battle on which the fate of the state and people depends, and not for the farce that only Russia expects from Ukraine. I think now is not the time for elections,” he said in his daily address.

Legislative elections in Ukraine would normally have been held in October this year, with presidential elections in March 2024. But faced with the current situation caused by the Russian invasion in February 2022, Kyiv is faced with a dilemma. Its Western allies are calling on Ukraine to organize democratic elections, even though nearly 20% of its territory is occupied by Russia and millions of Ukrainians are refugees abroad.

Another major obstacle: the law would have to be changed to allow the organization of voting under martial law, which is currently in effect. “There is no place for conflicts,” justified Vladimir Zelensky. “We all understand that today, during a war, when there are many challenges, it is absolutely irresponsible to introduce the topic of elections into society in a light and cheerful manner,” the Ukrainian president further supported.

This statement came at the height of the debate in the country about the possibility of organizing elections during the war. “The Ukrainian president is studying and weighing all the pros and cons,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said last Friday, emphasizing that the elections will pose unprecedented challenges for the authorities.