Most Ukrainians see elections during war as 'dangerous and meaningless' - Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he was ready to hold an election, but most Ukrainians are not, believing such a vote to be "dangerous and meaningless" as war rages around them.

He said this in an interview with AP, Ukrinform reports.

According to him, the war has made it impossible to hold a presidential election in Ukraine, originally slated for March under the constitution.

According to AP, Zelensky said that there were no words to describe how difficult the job of being the leader of a country at war is, but he also cannot imagine leaving the post.

"You honestly can't do that. This would be very unfair, wrong and definitely demotivating," he said.

Earlier, Zelensky said that the biggest difficulties for elections during the war were security issues regarding the presence of observers, the participation in the vote of the military, residents of temporarily occupied territories and Ukrainians abroad, as well as campaign financing.

Under the Constitution of Ukraine, the next regular parliamentary elections should be held in October 2023 and presidential elections in the spring of 2024. However, the legal regime of martial law that is in place in Ukraine complicates the holding of elections. Active discussions are currently taking place around this issue.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine