The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s unicameral parliament, failed to adopt a resolution “on the support of democracy in Ukraine in the face of the aggression of the Russian Federation.” Only 218 members voted for the resolution, below the 226 votes required for passage. (No legislators voted against it, but 54 did not vote.)
The operative part of the resolution says that the parliament declares that its members and President Zelenskyy “were elected in free, transparent, democratic elections with the invitation of international observers, recognized by the entire international community.” But “no state in the world” could, under the conditions of conflict Ukraine finds itself in, hold “elections that would be recognized as free, democratic and transparent by the world community.”
The text says that if elections were held under the prevailing conditions, they could not be conducted properly according to law, and would be a farce. The text of the Rada resolution says that it is actually President Putin who is illegitimate, because the process that allowed him another term was illegitimate. The elections in Crimea and the four eastern provinces were similarly illegitimate.
Returning to Zelenskyy, the resolution states: “Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected in free, transparent, and democratic elections. His mandate is not doubted by the people of Ukraine or the Supreme Rada of Ukraine, and the Parliament of Ukraine emphasizes the necessity of observing the principles of institutional continuity, provided for under Ukraine’s laws, especially during martial law, and notes that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy should exercise his authority until a newly elected President of Ukraine takes office.…”
“Only the establishment of a comprehensive, just and stable peace for Ukraine will make it possible to restore normal life in the country, an integral part of which will be to hold elections in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, observing all the international standards of a lawful democratic state,” it says.
