Elections to war. Zelensky responds in detail about observers, recognition and people in occupation – news from Ukraine, Politics

If elections are held during the war, then Ukraine will have a problem with the voting of the military, observers at the front, recognition of the vote, the will of people abroad and in the occupation, the president said Vladimir Zelensky. According to the head of state, it is more priority to carry out European integration reforms, reported he during the YES (Yalta European Strategy) summit.

The journalist asked if there would be elections in Ukraine.

“We will decide, we will decide. As for the elections: we are ready, that is, we have no issue with this. This is not a matter of democracy, or some processes, it is only a matter of security,” Zelensky replied.

According to the president, everything must be done so that the military, who are in the trenches and the first line, vote.

“That is, they defend the rights of people, but they themselves will not have the right to vote. This is simply impossible,” he explained.

Zelensky noted that Ukraine wants the elections to be democratic, and for this there must be observers.

He asked how observers would be in the trenches: “Okay, if the world is ready to send us people, we are all for it.”

The President said that the main thing for Ukraine is not to hold elections, but for them to be recognized by the world, their legitimization.

“For us, the main thing is not to hold elections, but to recognize them. For us, returning to the difference between us and our neighbors, it is very important for us that the elections are recognized by the world. Because we are a democratic country, this is what we are fighting for. And therefore recognition, legitimization of elections is very important,” he explained.

See also: Danilov on elections during the war: As soon as the agitators enter the trenches, Ukraine will lose

Regarding the millions of Ukrainians abroad, Zelensky noted that Ukraine does not have the appropriate voting infrastructure.

According to him, the state must use two things: either use the infrastructure of Ukrainian missions and states, where many Ukrainians are located, or conduct online elections.

The President asked Ukraine’s partners whether they recognize online elections, as well as the Verkhovna Rada: whether the parliament will vote for changes to the Electoral Code.

According to Zelensky, “you can live with all this and do something,” but the question of people in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine remains.

“What to do with the issue of temporarily occupied territories and people, and all Ukrainians on the WOT are very important, but with regard to those Ukrainians who fell under occupation on the 24th, what should we do first of all with them? How will they show their will? There are many difficulties. There are more the financial aspect, that we spend money on elections, and not on weapons, but I’m telling you, you can probably live with all this somehow, understand something, what to do. But these are the difficulties: like people who are not here today “will they choose their life here tomorrow? And this is a very important point,” the president noted.

He noted that he has no arguments either against or for the elections and that he is ready for them.

“I’m ready for elections. That is, we are ready, if our people need it, not just someone, but our people – okay, of course, let’s do it,” Zelensky explained.

The President said that the last straw is Ukraine’s challenge to the European integration of the state, and the laws for it must be adopted by the Parliament.

In his opinion, the priority is the European integration of Ukraine, not elections.

“We now have a challenge about the Europeanness of our state, the EU, etc. There are specific laws for which the parliament must vote, must support these laws. And I can say frankly that if the parliament does this, and on the contrary, there is a discovery about the EU, this result is very important, and on the contrary, there are all these challenges that I mentioned, so I consider it a priority to do the first [евроинтеграцию – Ред.]. I think so,” Zelensky noted.

• US Senator Graham, during a visit to Kyiv, said that elections in Ukraine should be held in 2024, even if the war continues.
• August 27 President Zelensky said that holding elections in Ukraine in 2024 is possible subject to Western funding and the presence of foreign observers in the trenches. In addition, the Verkhovna Rada must quickly amend the legislation prohibiting the holding of elections during martial law.
• After Zelensky’s words, Graham called on allies to help Ukraine hold elections.

Read also: Analysis | “Ratings the farther, the worse.” Will Bankova go to the polls during the war?

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Source: liga.net