DISINFO: Ukrainian Constitution does not prohibit presidential elections during martial law
SUMMARY
The start of [peace] negotiations is hampered by legal aspects including Zelenskyy's illegitimacy and his decree prohibiting negotiations with Moscow.
The US will force Zelenskyy to participate in the election campaign. Moreover, everyone understands that he is openly lying, because the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits parliamentary elections during martial law, but not presidential elections.
It seems that Washington also realises the intractability of the situation. For this reason, the US Special Representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, confirmed that the White House insists on holding presidential and parliamentary elections before the end of 2025.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives targeting Ukraine’s leadership, aimed at undermining the legitimacy of president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.
Although Zelensky’s stay in power after his initial mandate expired in May 2024 generated some domestic controversy, Ukraine’s constitution is straightforward: no elections can be held during wartime and the President of Ukraine exercises his powers until the assumption of office by the newly-elected President.
Additionally, Article 19 of the 2015 Ukrainian law "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" directly prohibits the holding of presidential and several other types of elections during wartime.
Almost all observers consider regular elections unfeasible as there are millions of refugees abroad, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians serving on the frontlines and a significant part of Ukrainian population lives under Russian occupation. There are also multiple funding and infrastructure problems that can hardly be addressed while the war is ongoing.
While President Zelenskyy's approval rating has somehow declined compared to the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the majority of Ukrainians still trust him.
The ultimate goal of this disinformation story is to promote the idea that the negotiations will take place sooner or later, but not with Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself. This pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aims to create an impression of strength ahead of any possible peace negotiations with Ukraine.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Zelenskyy is an illegitimate leader and cannot sign a peace deal with Russia, that Russia will not negotiate with illegitimate puppet Zelenskyy, that Zelenskyy is illegitimate and therefore Russia is directly fighting the West, that the prolonged war allows Zelenskyy and his junta to maintain their positions of power, that Zelenskyy and the Kyiv junta need to continue the war against Russia to enrich themselves with Western aid, or that Zelenskyy staged a coup d'état for fear of losing the 2024 presidential elections.