Ukraine’s acting president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, submitted a bill today to unicameral Verkhovna Rada, to extend martial law in Ukraine by yet another 90 days. His contention all along has been that it takes precedence over the constitutional requirement of a presidential election every five years. His elected term ended in May 2024.
The Rada is expected to adopt Zelenskyy’s martial law bill this week, extending the martial law for 90 days after May 8. This would effectively rule out any election for another 180 days, as a presidential election cannot occur, under Ukrainian law, for another 90 days after martial law if lifted.
However, Zelenskyy may be scheming for 270 days, not 180. David Arakhamia, the leader of Zelenskyy’s majority in the parliament, dismissed reports in the West that elections might be imminent, and suggested that elections would not be allowed before February 2026, at the earliest. He stated: “No elections are being prepared, no preparations are being made. All parliamentary parties and groups have agreed that elections should be held six months after the lifting of martial law. And in principle, our position has not changed since then.”
Whether there’s any reality behind such schemes, Zelenskyy has no trouble sending a message to those in the West who may have imagined they could easily arrange the pretense of an election in “defender of democracy” Ukraine.
