Zelensky says he discussed with Ukrainian Parliament ways of holding election
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Wartime elections are barred by law but Mr Zelensky, whose term expired in 2024, is facing renewed pressure from the US to hold a vote.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Zelensky discussed election legality with Parliament, seeking Ukrainian solutions to doubts raised by partners like the US.
- He opposes external pressure for wartime elections, citing security risks from Russian attacks and troop deployments.
- Zelensky seeks security guarantees from allies to end the war, rejecting elections under current conditions of conflict.
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KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec 10 he had discussed with Ukraine’s Parliament legal and other issues linked to the possibility of holding an election, and urged other countries, including the United States, not to apply pressure on the issue.
Mr Zelensky said on Dec 9 he was prepared to hold elections within three months
Mr Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, said he had held a “substantive discussion” with members of Parliament, adding he would allow “no speculation against Ukraine”.
“If partners, including our key partner in Washington, speak so much and so specifically about elections in Ukraine, about elections under martial law, then we must provide legal Ukrainian answers to every question and every doubt,” he said.
“It is not easy, but pressure on this issue is definitely not what we need. I expect members of parliament to put forward their views. Security challenges depend on partners, primarily America. Political and legal challenges must be answered by Ukraine. And they will be,” Mr Zelensky said.
Wartime elections are barred by law but Mr Zelensky, whose term expired in 2024, is facing renewed pressure from Mr Trump to hold a vote. Russian President Vladimir Putin has long denounced Mr Zelensky as an “illegitimate” negotiating partner for failing to submit to an election.
Ukraine is seeking strong security guarantees from its allies as part of a agreement to end the war, now approaching its fourth anniversary.
Mr Zelensky and other officials have dismissed the idea of holding elections with frequent Russian air strikes across the country, nearly a million troops at the front and millions more Ukrainians displaced. REUTERS
