Zelenskyy raises possibility of online elections in Ukraine: Parliament must find appropriate solution
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine could consider holding online elections. However, military personnel oppose voting under the current conditions because they cannot participate.
He said this in an interview with ZDF, Censor.NET reports.
Online elections and the military's position
Asked about elections not being held in Ukraine because of martial law, Zelenskyy said the issue was being discussed and that, according to him, the initiative came from US President Donald Trump's inner circle and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
In Ukraine, however, he said people understand the challenges and that security comes first.
Zelenskyy recalled that elections are "a day for the people who vote, not a celebration for the person being elected."
He listed several reasons why holding elections is currently difficult: nine million Ukrainians are abroad, several million more are in temporarily occupied territories, and the army is fighting on the front line.
"They [military personnel] also oppose elections because they have no opportunity to vote. Is that fair? Millions of people are in the trenches, and technically we cannot organize voting for them. During a war, being a soldier is the most important profession because soldiers risk their lives. Holding elections when soldiers cannot vote is unfair. It is one hundred percent unfair. We could consider online elections. That is possible, but then parliament must look for and find appropriate solutions," he said.
According to him, people also fear that elections divide society, and division during a war is a "challenge." Zelenskyy therefore believes elections in Ukraine should take place after the war ends.
Zelenskyy noted that military personnel, above all, should elect the head of state because "they have preserved our independence and continue to preserve it."
Proposal to the US for a winter truce
Zelenskyy described what he had proposed to the Americans:
"I told the Americans: you can negotiate a winter truce with the Russians, and then people will have electricity and water. During that time, we could also hold elections if all of you in the US want to replace me. Perhaps that will change after today, but under those conditions, it is certainly possible. So there is a chance. There was a chance."
On a ceasefire
- Responding to a view expressed in Germany that Ukraine should "just make peace" and give Russia some of its territory, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had supported various ceasefire formats hundreds of times, while Russia had opposed them.
- The head of state added that Russia refuses a truce, while Kyiv had proposed an energy ceasefire as a step toward de-escalation and a leaders' meeting to take concrete steps toward ending the war.
