David Arakhamia, the head of the ruling faction in the Ukrainian parliament, has dismissed reports of plans to hold a snap vote
Ukraine has no plans to hold a national election yet, a top Ukrainian lawmaker has said, dismissing reports that Vladimir Zelensky is planning a snap vote to catch the opposition off guard.
The Ukrainian leader’s term expired last May but he refused to hold an election, citing martial law.
Russia deems Zelensky “illegitimate” and insists that the only legal power in Ukraine now lies with the parliament. Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed placing Ukraine under a temporary UN-led administration to organize new elections.
Speaking to Suspilne on Monday, David Arakhamia, the head of Zelensky’s ruling Servant of the People faction in parliament, dismissed a report by The Economist, which cited unnamed government sources as saying “serious preparations are now underway for Zelensky to go before the electorate for a second time, and quite soon.”
It also claimed that Zelensky held a meeting last month to instruct aides to prepare for a snap election this summer, potentially following a ceasefire with Russia. The idea is reportedly to hold the election as early as July, in hopes that “a short timetable would let him run unopposed.”
Arakhamia dismissed the report. “No elections are being prepared, no preparations are being made. All parliamentary parties and groups have agreed that elections should be held six months after the lifting of martial law. And in principle, our position has not changed since then.”
According to current Ukrainian law, parliamentary elections should be held 60 days after the end of martial law, and presidential elections should be held within 90 days. May 5 is the deadline for a parliamentary vote to extend martial law, which expires on May 8.
Oleg Didenko, the chair of Ukraine’s Central Election Commission, said the timeline is not enough to adequately prepare for the election, stressing that the country needs to amend its electoral laws before calling a vote.
Last week, Putin proposed placing Ukraine under a temporary UN-led administration to organize new elections, saying this would help restore constitutional legitimacy. He added that any deals with the current leadership in Kiev could become void as “other leaders might come tomorrow.”
Arakhamia’s comments come after Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East and a key figure in the Ukraine conflict settlement, said in March that Kiev had in principle agreed to hold elections, though he did not specify a timeline.
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