The Servant of the People denies Zelensky’s statement about his intention to run for office – MPs’ reaction to Politico’s publication
23 September 16:10
The American edition of Politico reported that during a meeting with the Servant of the People faction, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly announced his intention to run in the next presidential election.
However, MPs from the president’s party denied this information in a comment to [Komersant ] and said that the discussion was different.
What they say in the faction
Volodymyr Vatras, Servant of the People:
“At the meeting with the faction, the president did not talk about his intention to run for president. They only discussed the possibility of holding elections under martial law. Therefore, the information of the publication is not true.
However, our president is determined to end the war on Ukraine’s terms. Therefore, he is fully focused on victory and is confident that Ukraine will defeat the aggression and the temporarily occupied territories will be under our jurisdiction.”
Serhiy Nagornyak, Servant of the People:
“I can neither confirm nor deny this information. I was not at this meeting.”
Hennadiy Kasai, Servant of the People:
“I attended all the meetings, there was no such thing.”
Yevheniia Kravchuk, Servant of the People:
“I was on a business trip when the meeting took place. But my colleagues say that the president did not say that.”
Heorhiy Mazurashu, Servant of the People:
“I was at that meeting, the whole meeting. I listened to everything carefully enough. Nothing was said there, not once was the president’s intention to run for office mentioned. On the contrary, he said that he was not holding on to his chair. I took it the other way around, that he was not going to leave. In the context of the elections, he emphasized that the main thing for him was the security conditions for holding them, and in general, security guarantees for the country “afterwards.” Perhaps there were some other meetings.”
What Zelensky said earlier
- In 2019, during the election campaign, Zelensky stated that he was running for president for only one term.
- In 2022, during a full-scale war, he told The New York Times that he was not holding on to power and that his main goal was to win Ukraine.
- In 2023-2024, in a series of interviews with Ukrainian media, Zelenskyy emphasized that the decision to run for office would depend on the security situation and rejected the possibility of elections during the war.
- In his speeches to the Rada, he repeatedly emphasized that the issue of elections could become relevant only after martial law is lifted and security guarantees are provided for citizens.
Why it is important
- Western media periodically report on possible elections in Ukraine even under martial law.
- The Constitution of Ukraine prohibits holding presidential and parliamentary elections during martial law.
- The question of the upcoming political cycle remains open and is often the subject of political speculation.
