 "Zelenskyy says 'ready' for elections in 3 months as Trump questions Ukrainian democracy")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he is ready to hold a wartime election within three months, as US President Donald Trump accused him of clinging to power.
In a reply to Trump’s comment on polls, Zelenskyy said, “This is a question for the people of Ukraine, not people from other states, with all due respect to our partners”.
“Since this question is raised today by the president of the United States of America, our partners, I will answer very briefly: look, I am ready for elections,” he added.
Zelenskyy further said that he personally does not mind elections, but would require “security” from Ukraine’s allies for the polls to take place, and only then can the country hold them in the next three months.
What did Trump say?
In an interview with Politico, Trump said, “They haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy any more.”
Zelenskyy’s five-year term expired last May, but the Ukrainian constitution bars elections during wartime. Even his political opponents have consistently acknowledged that current security and political conditions make holding an election impossible.
Serhiy Rakhmanin, an MP from the opposition Holos party, said, “It would only cause harm. He’s the commander-in-chief, and the country is in a position where we don’t have that luxury, whatever issues we might have with him. It would only help the enemy.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been critical of Ukrainian democracy. Last month, Putin asserted that Ukraine’s current leadership lacks legitimacy and argued that there is no point in entering into any agreements with it.
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View AllZelenskyy seeks advice
Zelenskyy said the main challenges to resolve are, first, the logistical problem of enabling soldiers, millions of displaced citizens, and people living under occupation to vote, and second, the legal question of how elections could be held while martial law remains in force.
He sought advice from Ukraine’s allies on securing the elections and from MPs on how to amend the law to allow them. “I am waiting for proposals from partners, I am waiting for proposals from our MPs, and I am ready to go to the elections,” the president said.
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