Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov noted that today it is impossible to organize the election process in the temporarily occupied territories. “We cannot hold elections now because it is a combination of many aspects: free access, freedom of speech, the ability to vote and be elected, and the ability to campaign. Elections are always a democratic process, not the appointment of the right people to elected positions,” he said.
Separately, he stressed that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine must announce the elections no later than 90 days before they are held, and therefore amending the resolution may now call into question the legitimacy of local elections.
The Speaker added that the lack of opportunities for elections in the temporarily occupied territories does not affect the Minsk Process.
“As soon as the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has legal grounds, it will definitely vote on the relevant resolution, and the elections will take place. If we talk about the clauses of the Minsk agreements, then, unfortunately, the first eight clauses that precede the ninth, which concerns the elections, have not been fulfilled yet. Therefore, to say that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine somehow has a negative impact on this process is incorrect,” remarked Dmytro Razumkov.
In addition, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada noted that such a position is supported in the Office of the President of Ukraine. “I am glad that the Office of the President and its head support the Verkhovna Rada in the fact that it is currently impossible to hold fair elections in the temporarily occupied territories. This demonstrates the unity around important issues of national security and democratic elections,” Dmytro Razumkov summed up.