The next presidential election in Ukraine should actually be held in March 2024, but everything points to the fact that it will not be held because of the war.
At the same time, Western politicians are calling on President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold a democratic election next year.
Presidential elections in Ukraine are held once every five years. In 2019, the Ukrainian people voted for the last time. That’s when Volodymyr Zelenskyy received over 73 percent of the vote and defeated then-President Petro Poroshenko.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues and Zelensky says it is not the right time to hold an election. One reason is that it costs a lot of money which is now needed for the war.
– Now in wartime, when there are so many challenges, it is completely irresponsible to speculate about the presidential election, he says in a post on social media.
Urged to hold elections despite the war
At the same time, several Western leaders – including US Senator Lindsey Graham – are urging the Ukrainian president to hold an election. The argument is that it would be important for democracy in Ukraine.
But Jakob Hedenskog, analyst at the Center for Eastern European Studies, says that it is not a democratic problem if the election were to be postponed.
– Ukraine has proven that you can hold democratic elections in contrast to Russia. There is no democratic deficit in Ukraine, but the problem is the war, says Jakob Hedenskog.
Can be postponed for a long time
According to the Ukrainian election expert Olga Aivazovska, the election can be postponed in principle for any length of time.
– If you look in the constitution of any democratic country, it says that elections should not be held during an ongoing war. It says nothing about how many years a country can go without an election, she says.