Zelensky: Election Are Not Appropriate at this Time

President Volodymyr Zelensky explained that he is opposed to holding elections in 2024. The Ukrainian leader claimed his government would be unable to hold elections due to the ongoing war. 

Zelensky was elected to a five-year term in March of 2019, and Kiev is due to hold elections next year. Ukraine has been under martial law since the Russian invasion in 2022. Ukrainian law prohibits elections during wartime. However, last week, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the president was considering the positives and negatives of holding elections.

On Monday, Zelensky put an end to any speculation that Kiev was holding elections next year. “We all understand that now, in wartime, when there are many challenges, it is utterly irresponsible to engage in topics related to an election in such a frivolous manner,” he said. “We need to recognize that this is a time for defense, a time for battle, upon which the fate of the state and its people depend. … I believe that elections are not appropriate at this time.”