Holding elections in May is extremely unlikely, - Venislavskyi
It is unrealistic to hold presidential elections in Ukraine before May this year, despite expectations from the US.
This was reported by Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense, and intelligence, and a deputy of the Servant of the People faction, according to Censor.NET, citing RBC-Ukraine.
Will there be elections in May?
I consider the possibility of holding elections in May to be extremely unlikely. This is because, as of today, there is no law or even a draft law that has been finalized by the working group and could be considered by parliament regarding the specifics of holding such elections. If it does appear, it will definitely not be before March," said Venislavsky.
According to him, there are parliamentary procedures for considering the bill, and this will take several more weeks. Accordingly, if it does not come into force in mid-March or late March, then at least 90 days are needed to hold elections.
"That is, it is extremely unlikely that this will happen in May, given all the procedures that must be followed," the MP concluded.
Holding elections simultaneously with a referendum
At the same time, Venislavsky considers it possible to hold presidential elections simultaneously with a referendum if certain legislative changes are introduced.
"If we evaluate Ukraine's law on nationwide referendums, the Electoral Code also prohibits holding elections and referendums at the same time because of certain risks and so on. But from a legal point of view, if there is political agreement among all forces in parliament to change these rules, then in principle it is possible to change both the Electoral Code and the law on referendums," he said.
According to the MP, this is not a very long procedure. It can be done within a month.
"And then, hypothetically, it would be possible to hold both elections and a referendum. But I would like to emphasize once again that a referendum appointed by the Verkhovna Rada can only decide on changes to the territory of Ukraine under Article 73 of the Constitution of Ukraine," he added.
What preceded it
- Also remind, that the Financial Times, citing sources, wrote that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly intends to announce presidential elections and a referendum on February 24, the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.
- In turn, Zelenskyy said that he was hearing about plans to announce elections and a referendum on February 24 for the first time.
