Stefanishyna: There are no legal, security, or physical conditions for holding elections in Ukraine
In Ukraine, there are no legal, security, or physical conditions for holding elections. In addition, the population does not have such a request.
This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna during a press conference at the European Commission's office in Vienna, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
"The legislation of Ukraine prohibits any electoral processes under martial law. And from the point of view of security, this is an extremely difficult task, because every polling station can be targeted by the Russian Federation. In addition, in Ukraine, in fact, there is no demand for elections, because the war continues. There are still many territories under occupation. Missiles hit Ukrainian cities. Therefore, there are literally no physical conditions for holding elections, including legal restrictions," Stefanishyna said.
According to her, first of all, it is important to focus on things related to the implementation of the Peace Formula and ensuring Ukraine's defense capability, "and after the accession negotiations (to the EU) begin, we will be able to talk about other democratic processes."
"But the priorities at this particular moment are to survive and advance reforms. Here in Vienna, it's very easy to talk about elections. But let's imagine that we in the Sumy region, in the same building, vote, for example, for members of parliament or the President. And this means that it has been publicly announced that there is a polling station here, that is, it is a target for the Russian Federation. And you will go to fulfill your civic duty, knowing that this may be the last trip in your life," Stefanishyna said, answering journalists' questions.
She also reminded that several million Ukrainians are under occupation, and their voting rights cannot be ensured at the moment.
