Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he was ready for elections if the parliament and allies will allow it.
His remarks came after US President Donald Trump called on Ukraine to hold a wartime election.
“I am ready for elections; moreover, I am now asking - and I state this openly - for the United States to help me,” Zelenskiy said during a WhatsApp question-and-answer session with reporters. “I’m asking - and now declaring it openly - the United States to help me, maybe along with European colleagues, to provide security for holding the vote. I have the will and readiness for that,” Zelenskiy said.
Trump made remarks about elections in Zelenskiy in an interview with Politico on Tuesday. “They haven’t had an election in a long time,” said Trump. “You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy any more,” he went on saying.
In his remarks, Trump was referring to the presidency of Zelenskiy who was elected in April 2019, but whose five-year term would have expired in 2024 had it not been for Russia’s full-fledged invasion that started in 2022.
Ukrainian Constitution prohibits holding an election in a wartime and Kyiv has repeatedly stated that the security and political situation does not allow for holding an election during the war.
“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,” said Serhiy Rakhmanin, an MP from the opposition Holos party.
Comments
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *