Ukraine will only hold elections if the United States and the European Union provide funds for them, in addition to what they are already providing for the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this during an interview with journalist Natalia Moseychuk on Monday, according to an announcement that was posted to the official website of the President of Ukraine.
Zelensky insisted he wants to have the elections and is not just trying to hold onto power, but said his various demands need to be met.
Elections are prohibited to be held in the country while it is under martial law, which is renewed every 90 days. The next expiration date of the martial law mandate is in November, which will likely cause upcoming parliamentary elections in October to be passed over. A presidential election is supposed to take place in March of 2024.
Learn the benefits of becoming a Valuetainment Member and subscribe today!
Zelensky explained holding elections under martial law will be impossible for the country unless foreign countries step in and help Ukraine host them by giving them money. Zelensky has already discussed this with American Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and asked him to try to convince U.S. lawmakers on his behalf to give him more funding for the elections.
“I told him: if the United States and Europe give us financial support … I’m sorry, I will not hold elections on credit, I will not take money from weapons and give it to elections either. But if you give me this financial support, if the parliamentarians realize that we need to do this, then let’s quickly change the legislation and, most importantly, let’s take risks together,” the President said. Zelensky claimed that Ukrainian elections during peacetime usually cost about $5 billion hryvnia ($135 million), but it is uncertain how much more the price tag will be to hold the election during the war.
Zelensky called on the European Union to provide the necessary infrastructure for the more than 7 million displaced Ukrainians living in European countries to vote in the election.
The Ukrainian President also asked if the U.S. and the EU could send in foreign observers of polling stations to monitor the process in order to insure election integrity.
“Observers should be in the trenches. I told him: observers must be sent to the frontline so that the elections are legitimate for us and for the whole world. And this is absolutely fair,” Zelensky said.
He also stressed the importance of allowing members of the military to vote:
“We need every vote. We won’t be able to say for ourselves that this was a very democratic election. We need a legitimate choice. We need this choice to be made by society. So that it does not divide our people. We need the military to be able to vote. They are defending this democracy today, and not giving them this opportunity because of the war is unfair. I was against the elections only because of this issue,” Zelensky said. He went on: “How will the military be able to vote? Show me the infrastructure. No one has shown it yet. How will people abroad be able to vote? No one has shown me. There is a way out. I am ready for it. I am talking about this publicly now, I told him. I have no secrets.”
Add comment