NSDC Secretary explains why there will be no elections during the war

Oleksii Danilov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), said there will be no elections until the war's end because it would be unfair to the boys and girls fighting at the front and those who left Ukraine.

He said this in an interview for the Ukrayinska Pravda online publication, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

"The state must ensure that all citizens, without exception, participate in the election process. It is difficult for me to imagine how the boys and girls who are today near Bakhmut, who are today in other areas of the front, will vote. How can this be done physically? And if they do not vote, then it's unfair. They protect our country. So, should they quit and go somewhere to vote or something? Who can imagine that?" Danilov said.

He also noted that the same applies to citizens of Ukraine who are currently outside the country and have temporarily left.

"There are a lot of questions that need to be answered. No one will allow anyone to conduct elections in an unfair way," the NSDC Secretary added.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk stated that the Constitution of Ukraine does not prohibit holding elections during wartime. According to him, the authorities intend to actualize this issue in the near future.

In May, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that parliamentary elections might not take place this fall due to martial law and a full-scale invasion by Russia.

At the same time, the leadership of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe insists on the need to hold parliamentary and presidential elections, despite martial law.

At the same time, the Ukrainian mass media reported earlier, with reference to their own sources that the elections may be held next spring or summer.