Top lawmaker confirms Ukrainian elections will happen in short or medium term - NV video
A woman stands in a voting booth at a polling station during the presidential elections in the village of Kosmach, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, on March 31, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel)
Elections in Ukraine will happen in the short or medium term, Verkhovna Rada National Security, Defense, and Intelligence Committee member Fedir Venislavskyi said in an interview with Radio NV on March 16.
The prospect of wartime elections has become one of Ukraine's most hotly debated political issues. While martial law currently prohibits voting, mounting pressure from Western allies and shifting domestic politics are forcing Kyiv to actively prepare for a return to the ballot box.
"Whether we want it or not, elections will still happen in the short or medium term," Venislavskyi said on Radio NV.
He made the comment while explaining why some lawmakers refuse to vote for unpopular bills required for European integration.
Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk approved the creation of a working group in Dec. 2025 to study the possibility of holding elections, electing Oleksandr Korniyenko as its head. Servant of the People party leader Davyd Arakhamia later announced that the Central Election Commission resumed the operation of the State Voter Register, which may indicate gradual preparation for the vote.
Zelenskyy said on Jan. 7, 2026, that lawmakers could begin preparing changes to election and referendum legislation in February, but he noted this depends on peace negotiations.
He announced his readiness to hold elections amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump urged Ukraine to hold presidential elections, and in 2025, he repeated Russian propaganda talking points, calling Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections."
The Financial Times published an article on Feb. 11 stating that Ukraine plans to hold presidential elections simultaneously with a referendum on a peace agreement with Russia this spring. This comes amid U.S. demands to organize a vote by May 15, 2026.
Ukrinform news agency later reported, citing a source in the Presidential Office, that holding elections in Ukraine in the near future is unlikely because Russia continues to strike the country, including civilian targets.
Zelenskyy himself later denied the FT report that he plans to announce presidential elections and a peace agreement referendum on Feb. 24.
A draft bill on post-war elections, which the relevant working group is developing, will be presented to Parliament in the near future, Stefanchuk said on Feb. 24. Once it is drafted, Ukraine will be able to determine exactly when the elections will take place.
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