Source: Zelensky: holding elections in wartime impossible for multiple reasons
俄罗斯一再提出乌克兰选举问题，有关这一话题的信息大量流传。 然而，乌克兰通讯社报道称，总统泽连斯基在“乌克兰2025年”论坛上表示，由于法律限制、安全风险以及确保民主进程的挑战，举行选举仍然不可能。 泽连斯基指出，“选举问题是由俄罗斯联邦提出的。我们的合作伙伴从未向我们提出过这个问题。”总统认为，新一轮选举讨论很危险，可能被用作对付乌克兰的筹码。 他强调，如果现在举行选举，安全将是主要优先事项，因为选举必须是安全和民主的，才能被承认为合法。 他动情地说，“战争期间人们如何投票？如果前线士兵无法返回家园，他们将如何投票？我不明白这怎么可能。此外，这违反了乌克兰法律和宪法。但最关键的问题是安全问题。军人如何投票？他们根本就不能投票。战时如何组织公平选举？苏梅和哈尔科夫地区选举会发生什么？正在撤离人员的库皮扬斯克呢？那里的投票将如何组织？国外的人可以投票吗？我们将如何准备投票基础设施？谁将监督前线的选举？实际上会有多少观察员来，他们愿意去波克罗夫斯克这样的地方吗？” 泽连斯基强调，这些都是至关重要的问题，因为如果大部分人口无法投票，选举就不可能公平。 他强调，“我们是否应该决定在距离活跃战区一定距离内不进行投票？但那里也有人生活！我们不能简单地将某些地区排除在投票之外——这是不民主和错误的。”另一个主要问题是在临时占领的领土上组织选举，因为俄罗斯可能会试图操纵或干涉投票过程。 泽连斯基提醒说，根据法律，在戒严令下不能举行选举。如果戒严令仅仅为了选举而解除，这将迫使许多士兵离开前线去投票，俄罗斯可能会在军事上利用这一点。
However, conducting elections remains impossible due to legal restrictions, security risks, and challenges in ensuring a democratic process, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated at the “Ukraine. Year 2025” Forum, Ukrinform reports.
“The issue of elections was raised by the Russian Federation. However, our partners have never raised this issue with us,” Zelensky noted.
The President believes that this new wave of election discussions is dangerous and could be used as leverage against Ukraine.
He emphasized that if elections were to be held now, security would be the main priority, as elections must be safe and democratic to be recognized as legitimate.
“How will people vote during the war? How will soldiers vote on the front lines if they cannot return home? I do not understand how this could be possible. Moreover, it contradicts Ukrainian law and the Constitution. But the most critical issue is security. How can the military vote? They simply cannot. How can fair elections be organized in wartime?” he said emotionally.
“What will happen with voting in Sumy and Kharkiv regions? What about Kupiansk, where people are being evacuated? How will voting be organized there? Can people abroad vote? How will we prepare the infrastructure for voting? Who will monitor elections on the front line? How many observers will actually come, and will they be willing to go to places like Pokrovsk?”
Zelensky stressed that these are critical questions because if a large part of the population is unable to vote, the election cannot be fair.
“Should we decide that voting will not take place within a certain distance from active combat zones? But people live there too! We cannot simply exclude certain regions from voting — that would be undemocratic and wrong,” he underscored.
Another major concern is organizing elections in temporarily occupied territories, as Russia may attempt to manipulate or interfere in the voting process.
Zelensky reminded that, by law, elections cannot be held under martial law. If martial law were lifted solely for elections, it would force many soldiers to leave the front lines to vote, which Russia could exploit militarily.
