Refuting fakes: doubts about Zelensky’s legitimacy

A screenshot of a Politico article entitled “Zelensky’s Allies question due to lack of elections” is actively spreading online.

Allegedly, the publication’s article talks about doubts on the sidelines of the White House about Zelensky’s legitimacy due to the cancellation of presidential elections in Ukraine. And allegedly in private conversations, American officials express dissatisfaction with the lack of basic democratic procedures in the country.

“Vox Ukraine” debunks fake Politico did not publish a similar articleand the screenshot distribute only Russian and pro-Russian sources. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky has not lost his legitimacy after the elections were canceled on the grounds that a democratic and fair vote could not be held safely during a Russian invasion.

None of Politico’s social media pages or media website published such an article. Vox Ukraine analysts and journalists did not find similar information in other reliable Ukrainian or Western media.

Legitimacy means support, trust and recognition of the authority of the government by the population of the country. Despite the drop in ratings, Zelensky maintains a relatively high level of support. Data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) show that as of February 2024, trust in the current president was 64%. Before the full-scale invasion, Zelensky was trusted by 37% of citizens, and after February 24, 2022, his level of support increased to 90%.

Since that time, the level of trust in the President of Ukraine has decreased. Also, the KIIS study shows that in February 2024, 69% of Ukrainians supported the view that Zelensky should serve as president until the end of martial law.

Martial law has been introduced in Ukraine, therefore, in accordance with Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law”, holding elections is prohibited. This means that for the duration of the martial law, the President of Ukraine will remain in office legally, and the next elections will be held after the martial law is lifted. Also, the Constitution of Ukraine guarantees the absence of a vacuum of supreme power and the principle of continuity of power.

During a full-scale war, it is impossible to guarantee a democratic and fair election procedure. To do this, it is necessary to organize unimpeded access to sites for almost a million Defense Force soldiers and more than nine million Ukrainians abroad, of which about 6.5 million are military migrants and almost 3 million are labor migrants. There is also a problem with counting and attracting IDPs, the number of whom, according to the International Organization for Migration, as of October 2023 as a result of a full-scale invasion alone is 3.7 million people. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities put the figure at almost 5 million forcibly displaced persons.

The problem of holding elections in Ukraine is the safety of citizens. Part of the country's territory is occupied, some cities are within reach of enemy artillery, and the entire country is under the threat of missile attacks. attacks. On election day, the enemy could launch air strikes and make it impossible for citizens and independent observers to access polling stations, leading to disruption of the electoral process. In addition, in wartime, the costs of holding elections are unjustified, because Ukraine is fighting for its existence, and funds for voting can be used to purchase military equipment.

100 Ukrainian public organizations, including Vox Ukraine, also spoke out against voting during the war by signing a joint statement. In November 2023, the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada and representatives of parliamentary factions signed a memorandum on holding the next presidential and parliamentary elections no earlier than 6 months after the end of martial law.

Meanwhile, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said in an interview program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin” that the fate of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is “decided”: “It seems to me that Zelensky’s fate is clearly decided. And very soon the moment will come when many, particularly in Ukraine, will question his legitimacy. In any case, even from a legal point of view, this will have to be done, and he will somehow have to justify himself.”

How wrote our publication, MEPs did not recognize the results of the March 15-17 elections in Russia and the legitimacy of Putinthey called on member countries EU limit your relationship with him to a narrow range of issues. The corresponding resolution was adopted on Thursday, April 25 and officially published on the website of the European Parliament. It was supported by 493 MEPs, 11 were against it and 18 abstained. The document notes that the Russians held elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and within the Russian Federation itself the “election” process was not free and fair.

Previously, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) did not recognize the legitimacy of Vladimir Putin as President of the Russian Federation. This is stated in resolution 2540, dedicated to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

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