Ukrainian Opposition: We oppose holding elections during the war

Ukrainian opposition leaders Petro Porosenko and Yulia Tymoshenko have refused the possibility of holding elections in the country during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as media reports suggested American officials had contacted them with this idea.

Poroshenko, former president, and Tymoshenko, former prime minister, simultaneously the most influential opposition figures in Ukraine, said on March 6th that elections should be held only after peace is achieved.

Through a written statement published on social networks, Poroshenko acknowledged that his team has contacted “American partners”, but the “helbi of talks with representatives of the American side has always been reduced to two principles: first and peace through force”.

Our “Our team has always been flatly against the elections during the” war, he added.

Costiantyn Yeliseiev, former Ukrainian diplomat and close associate of Portosenko, told Radio Europe free Europe that the former president and his team are “significant mediators” and those “keep in touch with many people from around the world”, despite supposed efforts by Ukrainian President Volody Zelensky, to get them out of the “political scene of Ukraine”

“I think our goal is to keep Ukraine on the agenda of the two parties”, he said, adding that the Porosenko team keeps in touch with the Democratic and Republican Party in Washington.

“We do not demand early elections, as our main goal is to ensure that any elections that will be kept free and fair, in line with European standards”.

Tymoshenko, meanwhile, said her team is talking to all of our allies that we can help achieve fair peace as soon as possible” and added that “there can be no conversation” for elections before peace is achieved.

These statements were made after Politico reported that four senior US President Donald Trump's team officials have met with Porosenko and Tymoshencon for “secret talks” concerning holding elections.

Discussions focused on whether Ukraine should hold presidential elections quickly, this media reported.

In February, Trump called Zelensky “dictator with no choice” due to the failure to hold elections since Russia began invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

White House officials have also cited holding elections in Ukraine as part of a peace process amid ongoing talks between Washington and Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed he cannot have peace talks with Ukraine, since according to him, Zelensky is not the legitimate head of state due to his mandate was meant to end in May 2024.

However, according to the Ukrainian Constitution, Zelensky must remain as president after the country has declared a state of war after the invasion began. Ukrainian lawmakers have mentioned this point when they adopted a resolution supporting Zelensky on February 25th.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stressed that for practical but also security and legal reasons, the country cannot hold elections in wartime. / REL