Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said that he will run in presidential elections if they take place in 2024 during the war. He said this in an interview with Portuguese public television RTP.
“In 2024, if the war continues and if elections are held, I will never abandon my state in my life. Because I am the guarantor of the Constitution, and I defend it in any case,” the president noted.
He clarified some conditions for holding elections.
“If these are elections, then they should be on our territory so that the military can vote, on the first line, so we need observers from all over the world. I want everything to be according to the law, transparent and democratic, as happened in the elections when I became president. When everyone said clean elections, I don’t want to lose it,” Zelensky said.
He added that Ukraine also does not have the right to lose people who left as refugees abroad.
“They must have the infrastructure to cast their vote for candidates. Russia is also raising this topic in the elections. We must ensure that there are no risks of bombing, of course there will be, but we must ensure that people in the areas are protected,” the president noted.
Zelensky noted that Western partners should pay for such elections.
According to the BBC, despite the fact that the law and the Constitution of Ukraine prohibit holding elections under martial law, Ukraine’s Western allies have repeatedly hinted that they would like to hold elections.
Thus, on August 23 in Kyiv, US Senator from the US Republican Party Lindsey Graham said that elections in Ukraine next year should be held even in conditions of war. He believes that “free and fair elections, even during an attack” on Ukraine, can demonstrate whether the country has changed on the issue of corruption.
Then Zelensky named the main conditions for holding such elections. According to him, first of all, these are changes in legislation, because the law clearly prohibits elections during war and additional funding.
He noted that Western countries that insist on such an expression of will should also share responsibility for elections during war.
