Zelenskyy Considers Holding Elections in 2024

Facts

• Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is 'weighing the pros and cons' of holding presidential elections in the spring of 2024, the country's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced on Friday.¹
• Though he admitted that conducting free and fair elections during the war with Russia would entail logistical and security challenges, Kuleba said, 'We are not closing this page.'²
• Previously, Zelenskyy had ruled out holding parliamentary and presidential elections — scheduled for March 2024 — during wartime, citing Ukraine's Constitution, which prohibits polls while the country is in a state of martial law.³
• This comes after the US and EU officials held discussions with their Ukrainian counterparts about 'what possible peace negotiations with Russia might entail' to end the conflict, including what Kyiv 'might need to give up to reach a deal,' according to two anonymous US officials.⁴
• Meanwhile, the US announced a new military aid package worth $425M to help Ukraine, including additional laser-guided munitions to oppose Unmanned Aerial Systems and reinforce Kyiv's air defenses for the future.⁵
• In other news, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, termed Poland 'a historical enemy' and warned that Warsaw's continued support to Ukraine could lead to World War III and the 'death of Polish statehood in its entirety.'⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²The Kyiv Independent, ³TASS, ⁴NBC, ⁵Ukrinform and ⁶The Times of India.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Kyiv Independent. While elections are evidence of the country's democratic health, Ukraine neither has the funds nor constitutional approval to conduct a free, fair, and safe electoral process as Russia continues to strike the country with drones and missiles. However, for the sake of Ukraine's democracy, Zelenskyy must prepare to address the challenges that will come with post-war elections to retain legitimacy, political stability, and national unity.
• Narrative B, as provided by CNN. Zelenskyy, who wants to run for another term if an election happens, is fixated on victory instead of a truce. Not much has changed five months after Ukraine launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive. Ukrainians are dying, Russia still occupies nearly one-fifth of the country, and the battlefield has reached a stalemate. Either Zelenskyy takes a qualitative leap to break the remorseless war or gives way.

Predictions