Is it possible to hold elections in Ukraine in May: what Venislavsky says
14 February 15:11
It is impossible to prepare for the presidential elections in Ukraine by May this year, as demanded by the US.
This was stated in an interview with RBC-Ukraine by Fedir Venislavsky, a member of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense, and intelligence, and a deputy of the Servant of the People faction, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“I consider the possibility of holding elections in May to be extremely unlikely. This is because, as of today, there is no law or even a draft law that has been agreed upon by the working group and could be considered by parliament regarding the specifics of holding such elections. If it does appear, it will definitely not be before March,” Venislavsky said.
According to him, there are parliamentary procedures for considering the bill, and this will take several more weeks. Accordingly, if it does not come into force in mid-March or late March, then at least 90 days are needed to hold the elections.
“That is, by May, with all procedures being followed, it is extremely unlikely,” the MP concluded.
At the same time, Venislavsky believes it is possible to hold presidential elections simultaneously with a referendum if certain legislative changes are introduced.
“If we evaluate Ukraine’s law on nationwide referendums, the Electoral Code also prohibits holding elections and referendums simultaneously because of certain risks and so on. But from a legal point of view, if there is political agreement among all forces in parliament to change these rules, then in principle it is possible to change both the Electoral Code and the law on referendums,” he said.
According to the MP, this is not a very long procedure. It can be done within a month.
“And then, hypothetically, it would be possible to hold both elections and a referendum. But I would like to emphasize once again that a referendum appointed by the Verkhovna Rada can only decide on the issue of changing the territory of Ukraine under Article 73 of the Constitution of Ukraine,” he added.
Rumors about elections in Ukraine in May
Recall that the Financial Times recently wrote that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may announce the date of the elections and referendum on the US peace plan on February 24, the anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion.
According to the publication, the US is allegedly demanding that the elections and referendum in Ukraine take place before May 15.
