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- Return the voice: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs insists on the participation of Ukrainians living in the Russian Federation in the elections
Return the voice: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs insists on the participation of Ukrainians living in the Russian Federation in the elections
Elections in Ukraine can hardly be considered fair without taking into account the votes of millions of citizens of the country living in Russia. Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, outlined this position to Izvestia. Earlier, the Verkhovna Rada announced the formation of a working group to prepare for the possible holding of presidential elections, which the US president insists on. However, it is unclear when the vote will take place. It is unlikely that this will happen in the near future, experts say. In their opinion, this is an attempt to deceive Trump in order not to say "no" to him. The CEC of Ukraine says that the optimal period of preparation for the elections is six months.
Why it is difficult to arrange a vote in Ukraine
Discussions about the possibility of holding elections and the development of appropriate legislation have intensified in Ukraine. According to the country's constitution, all holders of a Ukrainian passport who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote. But in order for the elections to be truly fair, Ukrainians living in the territory of the Russian Federation will also have to take part in the voting, the Russian Foreign Ministry is confident. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that, according to various estimates, there are from 5 million to 10 million Ukrainian citizens in our country.
"If the votes of millions of people who are in Russia are not taken into account, I don't know how much this can be considered real and fair elections," Rodion Miroshnik told Izvestia. — There are certain standards for the conduct of elections. This applies to participation, political parties, and lack of censorship. There is a whole list, and all these limitations are well known.
Earlier, the Russian president announced that the Russian Federation was ready to stop strikes deep into Ukraine during the elections. At the same time, Vladimir Putin added: Moscow has the right to demand from their organizers that Ukrainians who are in Russia be able to vote. In response, Vladimir Zelensky said that he opposes holding elections in the territories that have become Russian, accusing the Russian Federation of trying to "control" the vote.
— Zelensky is actively commenting on [Putin's statement on the elections in Ukraine]. He contradicts himself a little bit: he says that, they say, he will not allow anyone to interfere - he will not allow Putin to interfere in the elections — on Putin's proposal to guarantee the security [of the elections]. But at the same time, he had previously addressed the Americans," Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, drew attention.
On December 22, the Verkhovna Rada announced the creation of a working group aimed at preparing a bill on holding elections under martial law. It should include representatives of all parliamentary factions and groups, civil society and the Central Election Commission. According to the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk, the new law will be a one-time law, that is, "only for these elections." The chairman of the Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada, David Arakhamiya, said that for the first time since martial law, the CEC had resumed the work of the State Register of Voters.
A possible electoral process will require resolving a number of issues, in particular, how the military located on the line of contact will vote. Another point is the presence of foreign observers.
It is unclear how millions of Ukrainians living in European countries and in Russia, including in new regions, will be able to cast their votes. The deputy head of the Ukrainian Central Election Commission, Sergei Dubovik, claims that 33 million people are registered in the voter register, while about 5-7 million citizens are abroad. In addition, Dubovik announced another 1.4 million Ukrainian citizens whose place of residence is not reliably known.
Former Verkhovna Rada deputy Vladimir Oleinik draws attention to another important issue: whether campaigning in Russian will be allowed.
— According to the Constitution, Ukraine guarantees the free development, use and protection of the Russian language (art. 10). But the laws forbid it," he said in an interview with Izvestia.
The probability of holding elections
In general, discussions about the need for elections in Ukraine have flared up and subsided over the course of the year, depending on the course of negotiations on a peaceful settlement, in which US President Donald Trump plays an important role. Vladimir Zelensky's term of office expired on May 20, 2024. The election of the President of Ukraine was then canceled, citing martial law and general mobilization. Zelensky stated that the elections are now untimely. Donald Trump called him a dictator without elections and said that Zelensky's rating had dropped to 4%.
US President Donald Trump
In early December, the US president again called on the Ukrainian leadership to hold a vote. "They are using the war to not hold elections, but I believe that the Ukrainian people should have a choice," Trump said in an interview with Politico.
In response, Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine would be ready to hold elections within 60-90 days, provided that their security was ensured by the United States and European countries. However, experts agree that it is unlikely that the current authorities will actually organize elections.
"This is a pure deception created for Trump not to say no to him,— Vladimir Oleinik said. — If we take Zelensky's statement that Ukraine will hold elections within 60-90 days, then I will tell you, as a lawyer, as a former deputy, that this is impossible.
— Most likely, Zelensky will really try to delay this process. He understands that the chances of success are extremely low. According to opinion polls, he is inferior to both the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny and the terrorist, the head of the GUR Kirill Budanov. Anti-corruption investigations are calling his future into question, and the conflict with the oligarchs poses a threat to his life. He will cling to power to the last," Oleg Karpovich, vice rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, expressed his opinion to Izvestia.
Sergey Dubovik previously noted that the optimal time for preparing for voting in Ukraine is six months. It is possible that its authorities will try to wait for a change in the political situation in the West in the hope of avoiding elections.
—I believe that all this will at least take a long time, if at all, because Ukrainian and European politicians may well expect that the geopolitical situation will change and that, accordingly, something may happen that will eliminate the need for these elections altogether," a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations told Izvestia. under the President of Russia, Bogdan Bezpalko.
At the same time, the question remains who will be Vladimir Zelensky's opponent if he decides to hold elections. After the introduction of martial law in 2022, all real power in the country was concentrated in the hands of the office of the president and Zelensky personally. At the same time, against the background of the failures of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the battlefield and problems in the economy, the popularity of the head of the Kiev regime has noticeably decreased. In these circumstances, he is actively promoting the idea of electronic voting, which creates opportunities for fraud, as the Verkhovna Rada fears. Political scientist Denis Denisov also noted in a conversation with Izvestia that it is almost impossible to develop a fully secure remote voting system within a few months.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
