MP Kornienko on Presidential elections during war: there are currently no initiatives or drafts, such things should undergo serious discussion

First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Kornienko reported on the Presidential elections during the war that there are currently no legislative initiatives or drafts, such things should undergo serious discussion in parliament with representatives of public organizations. Kornienko announced this on Facebook, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"Currently, there are no legislative initiatives, drafts, or even drafts of such legislation. We need to work on it if we want it to appear. And it is obvious that such things should undergo a fairly serious discussion in parliament with representatives of various social movements and public organizations. Of course, the government should also participate in this. Accordingly, in order to start such a process, we need to all sit down together, discuss and understand where we can move further in parliament, developing this legislation," he noted.

Kornienko noted that due to the war, the Verkhovna Rada has been in power for six years and three months, while the President has been in power for six and a half years.

The MP noted that, on behalf of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Verkhovna Rada will prepare a legislative framework for elections, emphasizing that elections in Ukraine are impossible without ensuring security.

"If there is a need for us to provide a legislative framework, we will provide it. But it is clear that it is impossible to act without a security framework, which, again, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy correctly indicated, should be provided by partners, primarily the United States and our European colleagues. There are also questions about voters: those abroad, military personnel at the front, internally displaced persons. Several hundred thousand voters - we cannot neglect them and we must create conditions for them to express their will," he noted.

Kornienko stressed that it is currently impossible to guarantee security in Ukraine on election day and campaigning on a very significant part of the territory in frontline villages and towns near the front line.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on December 10, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had discussed with parliamentarians the possibility of holding elections during martial law and expects the Verkhovna Rada to present its own vision of this issue.

The day before, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Politico that Ukraine should hold elections, as they have not been held for a long time.

Trump noted that Ukraine is allegedly "using the war" as an excuse to postpone the vote, while emphasizing that the Ukrainian people "should have the opportunity to make a choice."

The American leader suggested that Zelenskyy could win them.