Ukraine war: A heated dispute arises around the elections of 2024

 Ukraine war: A heated dispute arises around the elections of 2024

In a conflict, how are elections to be held?

The question of whether Ukraine should proceed with the planned March 2019 presidential elections has been the subject of a contentious discussion for a number of months.

Following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the nation is now under martial rule, which prohibits any elections, including presidential ones.

The concept has infuriated many in Ukraine, who worry that a referendum may divert attention from the country's struggle to survive.

Following President Volodymyr Zelensky's declaration that November was "not the right time" for elections, tensions decreased.

However, the problem doesn't appear to be resolved and has sparked the nation's most intense political conflict since Russia started its full-scale attack.

But the US, not Ukraine, is one of the main aggravating factors in the conflict.

American party politics Before Ukraine's elections in 2024, a few US politicians—mostly in the Republican Party—are influencing the conversation around the country's elections, according to Olha Aivazovska, chairperson of the election monitoring network Opora.

He contends that some hard-right Republicans are making use of the matter to further their call for an end to military assistance to Ukraine.

And the volume of these voices is rising. Support for Ukraine has been embroiled in US internal politics and party divides as a result of Donald Trump's growing influence in the Republican Party.

"This does not mean that the far-right faction of this party will not use this theme against Ukraine next year [during the US presidential elections]," Ms. Aivazovska argues, despite the fact that many Republicans favor Ukraine.

They've already started acting in this way. One Republican contender for president, Vivek Ramaswamy, said earlier this month that Ukraine is "not a symbol of democracy" and that it is "threatening not to hold elections this year unless the US does more." doesn't need payment.

When Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham said that Ukraine should have presidential elections in 2024 during his August visit to Kiev, he was reflecting the opinions of these speakers.

And President Zelensky is aware that he must confront this increasing rhetoric emanating from the US, which is Ukraine's principal friend and whose military support is essential in thwarting Russian aggression.

In an August interview with Ukrainian TV, Mr. Zelensky said, "There are some things that could split American support [for Ukraine]." "The election is one of them because, to the best of my knowledge, there are voices within the Republican Party [that are opposed to continued support]."

Mr. Zelensky has not publicly opposed the elections until lately. He enumerated every obstacle, including legal, financial, and security issues, and declared himself "ready" to run for office again in the event that elections were conducted during a conflict.

Speaking to Ukrainian TV recently, Mr. Zelensky expressed his desire to "[hold elections] within a year or whenever necessary."

Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, said earlier this month that Mr. Zelensky was "considering the various advantages and disadvantages" of conducting elections during a period of conflict.

domestic reaction

There are still several barriers to voting, even if martial rule is modified to permit elections.

The most important thing is safety. The other is a displaced people.

"With millions of our citizens displaced internally or abroad during a war, it is not possible to hold elections during that time," said Olena Shulyak, a politician and leader of the governing Servant of the People party.

"We cannot hold elections until we can ensure the safety of our citizens and our soldiers are unable to cast ballots or make candidacies."

Other issues include damaged schools, which are often utilized as voting places; an antiquated voter registration; rights restrictions under martial rule; and a lack of money.

Experts concur that the existing environment precludes holding free and fair elections with a competitive political process.

It should come as no surprise that organizing presidential elections in Ukraine is a very unpopular proposition. More than 80% of respondents to a November survey by the International Institute of Sociology in Kyiv said they preferred elections to be held only after the conflict was over.

It is a common refrain among opposition and governing party MPs to argue against having elections the following year.

However, a domestic reaction has been triggered by President Zelensky's ambiguous remarks about the likelihood of having elections.

Officials were reportedly getting ready to conduct presidential elections in 2024, according to opposition MPs and the media. A few lawmakers declared their intention to run for president.

The standstill on the front lines was fueling speculation that President Zelensky's popularity was set to drop; thus, he intended to conduct elections in 2024 as scheduled, while his poll numbers were still strong.

Early in November, the President said on television that "this is not the right time for elections" in an attempt to put an end to the speculations.

He said, "We must decide that are currently the time of defense, the time of fight, on which the fate of both the state and the people depend."

When will Ukraine hold its elections?

Head of the parliamentary subcommittee on elections and referendums Alina Zagoruiko believes that Volodymyr Zelensky will still be a valid president when his term expires in the spring of 2019.

The present head of state continues to carry out his responsibilities until a newly elected president takes office, according to Article 108 of the Ukrainian Constitution.

However, Ms. Zagoruiko said that if the conflict drags on, "it may become a problem and we may need to explore an opportunity of holding elections even under such circumstances."

Still, the majority of politicians and analysts agree that post-war election preparations must begin far in advance.

Numerous towns and villages, including Avdiivka and Bakhmut, lie in ruins. The majority of their people is either extinct or dispersed around the nation and abroad. The infrastructure for the elections has been damaged. It will be very difficult to hold elections in such places, even during peacetime.

Voters are the second problem. Even once the conflict is over, it seems doubtful that many of the eight million Ukrainian refugees will go back home very soon.

According to Olena Shulyak, authorities need to consent to foreign governments' plans to increase the number of voting places overseas.

"We must talk about other voting options, such as online or postal ballots. Laws must be changed to account for each of these issues."

However, since these instances are seen as a prelude to wartime elections, Members of Parliament are unwilling to address these concerns. People accuse these leaders right away of abandoning the nation. The concern about losing national cohesion is intensifying since the front lines of combat have practically stopped moving forward.

It seems that the majority of Ukrainian political parties and organizations agree that while they are still at war with Russia, they cannot afford to go back to political unrest during peacetime.

However, maintaining this agreement may become increasingly difficult as the conflict continues, in part due to the political stance of Ukraine's Western allies.