No election so far: Ukraine is preparing to extend the emergency
Ukrainian MPs will almost certainly extend the term of military position again before it expires on May 9, said the President of the Supreme Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) Ruslan Stefanchuk, firmly determined to maintain democracy, even when the United States and Russia put pressure on Kiev to produce new elections. «
In his speech in the strictly guarded parliament, Stefanchuk emphasized the practical and legal inability to produce free and fair elections in a country that has been partially occupied and still subjected to permanent attacks, more than three years after the full -scale invasion of Russian troops.
Ever since in February 2022, Russia has been trying to represent the government, and in particular President Volodimir Zelenski, whose five-year term expired last year as illegitimate.
Zelenski has started preparing for elections, writes Economist
However, Stefanchuk emphasized Kiev’s commitment to democratic elections, in contrast to the situation in Russia, which eliminates political opposition at home and is forced to deny the allegations of secret campaigns to influence multiple elections abroad. « This is a priority for me because Ukraine has always been – historically, and now it will remain – a democratic Ukraine, » he said yesterday in an interview with Reuters. « This distinguishes us from the Russian Federation. On this point we are on both banks of the civilizational gap, » he added. According to him, the preparation for the future elections began, but it is at a very early stage.
Substances confirmed that there is a secret headquarters Ukraine – the United States for the War
The last parliamentary and presidential elections in Ukraine were manufactured in 2019. Every 90 days, Parliament’s approval is required to extend the martial law, which allows the mobilization of troops and the suspension of the election cycle.
No elections while soldiers fight and civilians seek refuge
Stefanchuk, who will take the functions if Zelenski dies or is incapacitated, said that parliament will almost certainly renew the regime of martial law because « the war is not over. » This means that about 800,000 potential voters are in a military uniform – they are fighting or trained. Nearly 5 million of Ukraine’s population before the war, which numbered about 44 million people, were registered as internally displaced, and over 4 million Ukrainians were registered as living in a European Union country without adding displaced but unregistered persons.
The army’s big problem opens a new fault in Ukraine
About a fifth of the territory of Ukraine, in the southern and eastern part of the country, is occupied by the Russian forces. Although US President Donald Trump has begun his second term, questioning the ongoing military support for Kiev against the backdrop of overtures to Russia and demanding a rapid termination of the war, the negotiations are stagnant. Meanwhile, the battles are still raging along the front line with a length of 1000 km, and people in the cities in the rest of the country live in a constant fear of Russian bombing, Reuters notes.
Even when the conflict is over, the restoration is so much to produce normal elections, it will be a huge challenge that Ukraine will have to create the frame from scratch, including the preparation of a new law to determine the deadlines, rules and procedures.
Stefanchuk said MPs, electoral employees and other experts are working on these issues, but have not yet begun drafting a bill. There has not yet been decided on the sequence of the production of local, parliamentary and presidential elections. « Even from a theoretical point of view, it is unrealistic to make all elections at the same time, » he added.
Prior to the war, elections in Ukraine cost about 4 billion bracelets ($ 100 million). But in addition to funding for election campaigns and voting, Kiev will also have to guarantee security and prevent any attempt to manipulate Russia, Reuters notes.
