The Washington Post reported that some Western politicians, but not the administration of US President Joe Biden, are calling on Ukraine to hold the next presidential election even though the country is still at war with Russia.
The newspaper recalls that Tiny Cox, head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, representing the Netherlands, was the first to make such a call to Kyiv. Among others, a similar idea was expressed by the influential American Republican Senator Lindsey Graham during his visit to Kyiv.
Other representatives of the conservative wing of American politics, including the presenter Tucker Carlson, also proposed holding elections in Ukraine. The newspaper recalls that the latter unjustifiably accused Zelensky of canceling the vote.
According to the Ukrainian constitution elections cannot be held during martial law, which was repeatedly stated by representatives of the country’s authorities. The next presidential election in Ukraine must be held no later than March 31, 2024, but according to current laws, it cannot take place if the country is under martial law at that time. This means that for the vote to take place, either the country’s constitution must be changed or martial law must be temporarily lifted.
Ukrainian officials, as well as election experts interviewed by Washington Post journalists, agree that it is virtually impossible to hold free and fair elections during wartime.
The newspaper recalls that about a fifth of the territory of Ukraine remains under Russian occupation, and millions of the country’s inhabitants are forced to leave their homes or go abroad. Tens of thousands of military personnel are also at the front.
In private conversations with the authors of the publication, Ukrainian officials have said that it is practically impossible to hold presidential elections under such conditions – and Russia can use the situation to its advantage, to weaken Ukraine from within. In particular, to try to increase the division in Ukrainian society and among politicians.
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“The Russians are pushing this through their secret channels,” an unnamed Ukrainian official told the newspaper. “There is no situation in which democratic elections can be held during war.” The person added that holding elections “could destroy the very fragile political power of the Ukrainian state“.
However, the Ukrainian authorities have not categorically rejected the idea of holding presidential elections, so as not to come into conflict with Western politicians, whose support they need, the publication writes.
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At the same time, the administration of President Joe Biden believes that the decision to hold elections should be made by Ukraine, the authors of the publication write. They cited an unnamed White House official who said US officials understood how difficult it is to hold elections during war. “We’re not putting pressure on them to hold an election,” the Biden administration official said.
According to the member of the Ukrainian parliament, such calls come mainly from the Republicans, who will soon have to participate in the US presidential elections in 2024. “This is logical and expected,” the unnamed member of the Rada told the newspaper. “Of course, Ukrainian issues will be part of the domestic political discourse in the US anyway.”
2023-09-24 19:20:29
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