Elections aren’t coming to Ukraine this year, here’s why

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the possibility of holding elections in the country while still at war with Russia. Here’s what Zelensky said and why it might be one of the most important messages of the conflict. 

In his November 6th nightly address to Ukrainians, Zelensky explained that it wasn’t the time to hold an election in Ukraine and said the move would be “irresponsible” in light of the country’s current situation Newsweek reported. 

"We all understand that now,” Zelensky said in his address, “in wartime, when there are many challenges, it is utterly irresponsible to engage in topics related to an election in such a frivolous manner.” 

Screenshot from Youtube @PresidentGovUa

Elections were scheduled to take place in March 2024 prior to the war but the Ukrainian constitution prohibits the process when the country is under martial law. This is why the October parliamentary elections were postponed. 

Martial law in Ukraine was first declared in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion on February 24th and needs to be renewed every 90 days. The coutnry's current 90-day period of martial law is set to expire on November 15th but will almost certainly be renewed. 

However, martial law in Ukraine hasn’t stopped Zelensky from discussing the possibility of holding an election, and the idea wasn’t definitely ruled out as recently as late August according to Andrew Kramer of The New York Times. 

While speaking at a conference in July, Zelensky noted that holding an election was not  a “question of democracy” but rather “exclusively an issue of security.” On that point, the Ukrainian leader was certainly correct. 

It would be difficult for Ukraine to hold an election and ensure the safety of those voting at the polls in person considering the types of civilian-focused attacks Moscow has used against the Ukrainian population. 

Online voting was one solution proposed by Zelensky but the hardening of his thoughts on an election could have more to do with the political backlash he has faced in public, a situation his video update seemed to address. 

“The waves of any politically divisive things must stop,” Zelensky declared according to The Hill before calling on the Ukrainian people to remember that they were in a moment where the attention of the country needed to be focused on the war. 

Screenshot from Youtube @PresidentGovUa

“We must realize that now is the time of defense, the time of the battle that determines the fate of the state and people, not the time of manipulations,” Zelensky continued. “I believe that now is not the right time for elections.”

Zelensky’s call to hold off on an election comes at a time when he is facing increased public scrutiny over the course of the war and the slow pace of the country's offensive that has yet to yield any significant territorial gains.

A November 1st Time Magazine article by Simon Shuster revealed that some of the Ukrainian leader's closest aides believed Zelensky’s hardened views about an ultimate Ukrainian victory in the war were worrying. 

“He deludes himself,” one aide told Shuster. “We’re out of options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that,” the aside continued. Schuster added that some aides said that Zelesnky’s stubbornness was hurting the ability to develop a new strategy. 

Shuster did not name any of the aides he spoke with, which makes the claims difficult to verify. But wartime grumblings about a leader deadset on seeing his people through a difficult national moment would not be a major surprise. 

Newsweek noted that Zelensky has previously said he would run for a second term if an election were to proceed, and he would presumably win that election since his approval rating among the Ukrainian people is at a near all-time high. 

On October 20th, Gallup released the results of its latest polling on Zelensky’s approval rating in Ukraine and found that over eight in ten people (84%) surveyed in September supported the job their wartime leader was doing.