The majority party in the Ukrainian parliament signed a statement opposing the holding of presidential elections in wartime

Chinanews.com, December 12 According to a report by the Ukrainian National Network (Strana) on November 1 local time, all parties and groups in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine signed a statement opposing the wartime presidential election, except for one group.

It is reported that the statement was signed by all parliamentary parties and groups, with the exception of the "Ukrainian Renaissance" group. The statement noted that elections (including presidential and parliamentary elections) should not be held in wartime, and that elections should be held at least six months after the state of war has been lifted.

According to reports, the document was signed after the "Jean Monnet Dialogue" meeting, which took place from November 11 to 10. According to TASS, the "Jean Monnet dialogue" is an instrument of the European Parliament that provides for the establishment of dialogue between different political forces in order to seek consensus.

Sergei Sobolev, a member of parliament from the Fatherland Party, one of the participants in the event, told the media that "Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba said that the presidential office is 'considering and weighing' the possibility of holding presidential elections tomorrow spring, and that the election campaign in Ukraine has actually begun." This is a threat to our unity. He said the country's ruling party had recently held internal consultations, but in the end, the signed document included a clause on preventing wartime elections.

A Ukrainian parliamentarian told the outlet that the document, as part of the "Jean Monnet Dialogue", would be an obstacle to wartime elections, making it more difficult to pass election-related decisions in parliament.

According to TASS, according to the Ukrainian Constitution, presidential elections should be held in March 2024, but the Ukrainian media have repeatedly discussed the possibility of canceling or postponing them. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in November 3 that this is the time for national unity rather than division, and "I don't think this is the (right) time for elections."

Since the imposition of martial law in Ukraine on February 2022, 2, all elections, including the presidential elections planned for the spring of 24, will be "technically" canceled, as previously reported by AFP and Reuters.