Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is making plans to seek reelection and restore elections in his country, as his ratings climbed after his contentious White House meeting with President Donald Trump, according to a new report.
The Economist, quoting Ukrainian government sources, reported Sunday that Zelenskyy called a meeting last week to discuss organizing a vote after a full ceasefire, expected by the American side in late April, is reached with Russia.
This means the Ukrainians could confirm an election before or by May 5, the deadline for a parliamentary vote on whether to extend martial law in the nation, which will expire on May 8.
After that, sources in the country say Zelenskyy is aiming for an election in the summer. Under Ukrainian law, at least 60 days are required for campaigning, putting the earliest election date in early July.
Other sources, though, say the campaign will have to go on for at least three months, the time election authorities have told the Ukrainian Parliament that is required to reconstitute voter lists at a time of war.
Opposition party leader Petro Poroshenko, a sworn foe of Zelenskyy's, said the elections could be held "any time from August to October," and says the campaigning actually started in February, when the Ukrainian president placed him under sanctions.
The move was linked to Poroshenko's ongoing trial for charges of treason, but some are saying that his trip to the United States to meet with Trump administration officials triggered the sanctions.
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, have pushed Zelenskyy to hold elections even without a ceasefire, believing that the Ukrainians would unseat him.
Meanwhile, a quick election, which would benefit Zelenskyy, would be impossible to pull off, according to opposition leaders, because reaching a ceasefire before May 8 could be difficult.
Also, Serhiy Vlasenko, a senior lawmaker with the Batkivshchyna Party, commented that it would be difficult to find a way for millions of voters to cast ballots, considering they are likely to be abroad or fighting against Russia.
The opposition parties are also set against voting during wartime, as a fair election would need to be free of wartime censorship and propaganda.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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