Elections cannot be tailored to the approval ratings of the government or the opposition – they must be determined by the security situation and the guaranteed right to free choice for all citizens, UDAR Vitali Klitschko party said.
"Our position remains unchanged: elections cannot be held during active hostilities. For five years now, amid a full-scale war, the topic of elections has periodically returned to the public agenda. All too often, this happens against the backdrop of new opinion polls, political calculations, and attempts to determine the most opportune moment. This should not be the case. The decision to hold elections cannot be made by monitoring opinion polls and choosing a convenient moment for either the current government or any potential candidate. "Elections should not weaken Ukraine, but make it stronger," the party said in a statement on Wednesday.
The party said that during wartime, it is virtually impossible to ensure equal access to the electoral process for all Ukrainians. This is particularly true for military personnel on the front lines, residents of occupied territories, communities near the front lines, and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
"The right to vote is not only the right to elect, but also the right to be elected. Therefore, military personnel defending Ukraine on the front lines will not have equal opportunities to participate in the elections as voters or as candidates. Similarly, millions of Ukrainians abroad, internally displaced persons, residents of frontline communities, and citizens from temporarily occupied territories will not have equal access to the electoral process," the statement reads.
In addition, UDAR said that holding elections during active hostilities will make polling stations, venues for public events, and candidates' offices targets for enemy shelling.
"We also cannot ignore the security risks. Polling stations, party offices, and public events could become targets of Russian attacks. The enemy will gain additional opportunities for information operations, cyberattacks, the spread of disinformation, and undermining confidence in the election results," the party said.
First Deputy Party Chairman Artur Palatny said today Ukrainian politicians – both in the government and the opposition – must seek ways to survive the war and achieve peace, rather than focus on the elections.
"The government and Ukrainian politicians should not be preoccupied with finding ways to hold elections, but rather with thinking about how the country can survive the war and achieve a peace that serves Ukraine's interests. The timing of elections should be determined not by poll numbers or the desire to retain or gain power, but by the security of the state and the ability to guarantee every Ukrainian the right to freely vote and be elected. Only such elections will not weaken Ukraine but will make it stronger," Palatny said.
As reported, on Tuesday, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine must find a legitimate, safe, and realistic mechanism to restore a full-fledged democratic process even amid a protracted war. "Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia… We must find a lawful, secure, and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a fully-fledged democratic process even under conditions of a protracted war. This is difficult," he said in his address.
According to him, the duration of the war should not mean abandoning democratic processes, and Russia must not be allowed to determine when Ukrainians will be able to elect their government. He said in order to hold elections, it is necessary to ensure the right to vote for military personnel, millions of Ukrainians abroad, and people in frontline regions, as well as the security of the electoral process, the independence of institutions, and trust in the results. "Difficulty does not mean impossibility. Ukraine has already done many times what the world considered impossible. We can find a solution in this situation as well," Fedorov said.
