KYIV
\nDespite Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine and a nationwide state of martial law, some Western politicians are pushing the government in Kyiv to hold parliamentary and presidential elections a prospect that has left many Ukrainian officials scratching their heads.
\nThe proposal initially floated by Tiny Cox, the Dutch head of the Council of Europe\u2019s Parliamentary Assembly was also pressed by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), during a visit to Kyiv last month with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), which otherwise focused on solidifying U.S. assistance and bipartisan support for Ukraine.
\nOther Republicans have also taken up the cause, including conservative commentators like Tucker Carlson, who falsely accused Zelensky of canceling elections. Ukraine\u2019s constitution prohibits elections under martial law.
\nHolding free and fair elections in wartime is virtually impossible and also ill-advised, according to Ukrainian officials, election experts and democracy advocates. Roughly one-fifth of Ukraine\u2019s territory is now occupied by Russian forces. Millions of Ukrainians are displaced and many are living outside the country. Tens of thousands of soldiers are deployed to the front.
\nThe pressure to hold elections, despite such obstacles, highlights the constant demand by some in the West that Ukraine prove its commitment to democracy, even though Ukrainians have twice risen up in mass pro-democracy demonstrations the Orange Revolution of 2003-4 and the Maidan Revolution of 2013-14.
\nUkrainian officials say that in order to hold a major vote during wartime, considerable financial, logistical and legal hurdles must be overcome. In private, some say that the prospect is outright impossible, and could provide Moscow security forces with a means to infiltrate and weaken Ukraine from within.
\n\u201cThe Russians are pushing for this through their secret channels,\u201d a Ukrainian official in the security apparatus said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. \u201cThere is no situation in which it is possible to have a democratic election during the war.\u201d
\nThe official said holding an election could give Russia an opportunity to manipulate and create divisions in Ukrainian society and among politicians, which for most of the war have disappeared to show solidarity while the country fights for its existence.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s risky, bad for the country and senseless from a political point of view,\u201d the official said adding: \u201cIt would undermine the very fragile political resilience of the Ukrainian state.\u201d
\nBut Kyiv officials also cannot dismiss the idea of holding elections out of hand and risk alienating key political players in the West, who are demanding elections and are crucial for Ukraine to maintain international financial and military assistance.
\nFormer Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko said that holding elections during wartime would lead to Ukraine losing the war, as internal political disagreements differences that occur naturally in a democratic society shatter the national unity needed to defeat Russia.
\n\u201cThe price of holding elections in wartime will be a lost war,\u201d Tymoshenko said in an interview in Brussels this month. \u201cUnity is an indispensable resource for our victory.\u201d
\nTymoshenko also noted that soldiers fighting would have difficulty voting and are barred by law from seeking office in wartime. \u201cThose who are sacrificing their lives on the front line, most of them will not be able to vote,\u201d she said, adding: \u201cSeven million Ukrainian people are now refugees, many living outside the country most of them will not be able to vote.\u201d
\nIn May, Cox, a Dutch politician, gave an interview to Ukrainian media in which he called on Kyiv to hold elections that were \u201cas free and fair as possible.\u201d He gave the example of Turkey holding elections directly after experiencing a major earthquake as proof that holding a vote was possible.
\nCox later amended his comments, acknowledging that elections could not be held while Ukraine was under martial law, which is unlikely to be lifted before the war ends. But, he said, \u201cat a certain moment there will be elections, and my advice is to start preparing for it as soon as possible.\u201d
\nGraham made his push during a meeting with Zelensky while visiting Kyiv as part of a congressional delegation. At a news conference ahead of the meeting, he said it was \u201ctime for Ukraine to take the next step\u201d in the \u201cdevelopment of democracy, namely to hold elections in 2024.\u201d
\n\u201cI want this country to have free and fair elections, even when it\u2019s under attack,\u201d Graham said.
\nIn an interview with Ukrainian media after Graham\u2019s visit, Zelensky said the U.S. senator\u2019s proposal was \u201cvery reasonable, very fair.\u201d But he also said that he told Graham elections in Ukraine under martial law were only possible \u201cif the right to vote is ensured for all citizens.\u201d
\n\u201cHow will the military be able to vote? Show me the infrastructure. No one has shown it yet,\u201d Zelensky said. \u201cHow will people abroad be able to vote? No one has shown me.\u201d
\nThe following day, Graham issued a statement, saying that he was \u201cvery pleased to hear that President Zelensky has opened the door to elections in Ukraine in 2024,\u201d calling the decision \u201cbold and consequential\u201d and \u201can act of defiance against the Russian invasion.\u201d
\n\u201cI cannot think of a better symbol for Ukraine than to hold free and fair elections during the course of a war,\u201d Graham said.
\nHis statement acknowledged that Ukraine\u2019s parliament \u201cmust approve this\u201d and \u201cthe security environment\u201d for a vote \u201cwould be challenging.\u201d
\nZelensky also said Ukraine could not afford the $135 million cost of holding an election while it is fighting for its very survival. He suggested that if the West wants an election then it should pay for it.
\n\u201cI will not hold elections on credit. I will not take money from weapons and allocate it to elections, either,\u201d Zelensky said.
\nThe money, he said, would go to organizing the vote among soldiers and for the estimated 7 million Ukrainian refugees abroad. The West would also have to send election observers, who would be \u201cin the trenches,\u201d Zelensky said.
\nRepublican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called Zelensky\u2019s demand for $135 million a \u201cballot box shakedown.\u201d Ramaswamy previously said that the U.S. should stop funding Ukraine and force Kyiv to negotiate with Moscow.
\n\u201cHis veiled threat to forgo democratic elections in Ukraine unless the American people foot the bill and cough up another $135 million in funding represents a new level of extortion of the United States,\u201d Ramaswamy said in a statement published by Fox News.
\nIn August, Ukraine\u2019s parliament extended martial law by 90 days, until November, thereby postponing a parliamentary election that was supposed to take place no later than the end of October.
\nFor parliamentary elections to take place, the constitution must be amended, legal experts say. Alternatively, martial law could be lifted.
\nHowever, members of parliament would need to halt martial law for at least two to three months the time required under Ukrainian law between the announcement of elections and voting day, and also to allow candidates enough time to campaign.
\nSenior Biden administration officials have said that it\u2019s up to Ukraine to decide when to hold elections. During a visit to Kyiv earlier this month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Zelensky to consult widely with civil society and the Ukrainian opposition on when to hold the next vote.
\nA senior U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic, said that the Biden administration is sympathetic to the many logistical obstacles to holding an election in wartime.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re not pushing them to have an election,\u201d the senior official said.
\nOne Ukrainian member of parliament said the pressure was coming primarily from Republicans as the 2024 presidential election gets underway. \u201cThis is logical and to be expected,\u201d the lawmaker said, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect diplomatic relations. \u201cOf course, Ukrainian affairs will one way or another become part of the domestic American discourse.\u201d
\nTymoshenko, the former prime minister, said that her party disagrees with Zelensky on many issues but opposes holding elections under current conditions. \u201cWe are absolutely against this,\u201d she said. \u201cTo lose the war only because somebody wants elections it\u2019s unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KYIV Despite Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine and a nationwide state of martial law, some Western politicians are pushing the government in Kyiv to hold parliamentary and presidential elections a prospect that has left many Ukrainian officials scratching their heads. The proposal initially floated by Tiny Cox, the Dutch head of the Council of Europe\u2019s Parliamentary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-358064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n