Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told BBC last week that there will be no Ukrainian presidential election in 2024 if martial law is still in effect, The New Voice of Ukraine reported.
Zelensky’s five-year term is due to end in 2024, but his comments suggest that it will be extended indefinitely if the war isn’t over by then. He made similar comments about Ukraine’s parliamentary elections, which are due to be held in October of this year, in an interview with The Washington Post last month.
When asked if parliamentary elections will be held this fall, Zelensky said, “If we have martial law, we cannot have elections. The constitution prohibits any elections during martial law. If there is no martial law, then there will be.”
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, also said this month that elections can’t happen in Ukraine under martial law, which Zelensky declared when Russia invaded. “Ukrainian legislation stipulates it is impossible to hold any elections during martial law. And this makes sense,” he said.
Stefanchuk added that if elections happen, it could “lead to the rupture of the state, which our enemy is waiting for. That is why I think the most correct and wise decision is to hold elections immediately after the end of martial law.”
After declaring martial law, Zelensky took steps to consolidate his power, including banning the main opposition party in Ukraine’s parliament, Opposition Platform — For Life, which held 44 seats at the time. He also banned ten other opposition parties and nationalized the media.
Clear in this statement by the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament is 1) that the move of Ukraine to an openly authoritarian state is nearly complete, and 2) That if allowed, half of Ukraine would break away from Kiev, which tracks how geographically and ethnically divided the last several Ukrainian elections showed this “nation” to be.
The West knows this but doesn’t want to admit that Ukraaine was never united and what happen in 2014 wasn’t in favor of the people.
They will not allow half of Ukraine beak away, they prefer ethnic cleansing (genocide). The point is: the east is very rich of mineral resources and American corporations would like to have it. And what is even more important, they would like to use it as a bridgehead against Russia.
To get to the Urals, another place rich in minerals.
Yes but Ukraine looked to them easier target.
Davie Stockman’s latest article illuminates this.
“That is why I think the most correct and wise decision is to hold elections immediately after the end of martial law.”
Well, shoot, as long as Russia occupies a part of Ukraine … say, Crimea … then martial law needs to continue, right? Meanwhile, keep that money coming, suckers.
Coming soon to the US?
Why? The oligarchs have the two factions of the war party sewn up – why spoil it?
Because only absolute power will satisfy the absolutely corrupt.
absolute power corrupts absolutely…
That’s right, we’re fighting for the DEMOCRATIC rights of the Ukrainian people to NOT hold elections. It’s all for democracy baby!
I’m no fan of Putin, but gosh Biden’s justification for American support for Ukraine is just so laughable.
OBAMA/Biden and his neocons never said why they funded the regime change OF THE ELECTED president and then the war. By accident Biden said Putin must go and Austin said Russia must be weakened. Not a trace of a coherent policy, not even in the State of the Union speech, maybe I missed something?
Dont forget that Bush funded the Orange Revolution in 2004, Victoria Nuland was complicit in both situations
She does have a long history and she and the Kagan clan are not about to leave soon. Maybe she will be the next candidate to replace Biden. Harris is not likely to run for the office , if she would her chances to win are slim to say the least. But if the people in charge like her who knows.
And this is the democracy that the US and EU are promoting.
Zelensky is a complete fraud. You have to be dim-witted not to recognize, a man who perpetually dresses like he just came back from the frontlines, has zero interest in democracy.
He is real corny when he puts his right hand under his left armpit to please corny Americans do when they hear their anthem.
Unfortunately, many of the “dim-witted” are in Congress.
Germany is transferring a brigade of 4,000 troops to Lithuania on a permanent basis, according to the head of the German Defense Ministry Boris Pistorius at a press conference in Vilnius on June 26.
Lithuania can be considered a Baltic outpost of NATO’s military presence in Russia’s own backyard, given Lithuania borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Once again we have German tanks on the Russian border, NATO is preparing for war and this time they will fight shoulder to shoulder with Nazi’s, brothers in arms.
Arrest them all as the Supreme International Criminals they are. This is an absolute disgrace.
Scholz is a little worm, like Zelensky, he gets his orders from DC, most likely from Nuland, she appears to be in charge.
That is why the established parties in Germany are on the out, the AfD is taking over. They represent the people’s interests while the established parties threw the nation under the bus.
As the Green Baerbock said, Germany will support Ukraine as long as it takes, regardless of the voters in Germany.
US/NATO is controlled by political thugs, not one with character and integrity with the exception of Orban and Erdogan, they act in their nation’s interests as they see it.
There is not a serious voice of dissent in the American congress, none. No opposition at all. In Germany the AfD is the opposition party and loud and clear and they are gaining voters. They are conservatives but not extreme neo-Nazis. MSM is trying to demonize them but the reality is what counts.
Last thing we need is more NAZIs.
Germans are conservative people like any others. How would you scream if they were socialists? They are left leaning social democrats, and have strong labor unions, it started in Germany. They were the first nation with national health insurance, a social market economy and more. You have your biases. The US politicians jumped in bed with Ukrainian neo-Nazis, that did not happen in Germany, does that make every American a NAZI? A conservative German is automatically a NAZI in your eyes.
Immediatela after WW II the US started orotecting the old friends in germany in the new new war against Communism. John Foster Dulles was in a law firm that was the very last to break ties with the Nazi regime. He was very reluctant to do so because for him the real fight was against Communism.
So true, it is always Communism/Socialism against Capitalism. The Social Democracies in Europe were the most fair and humane societies in history as far as it goes in MHO. It is always about more wealth.
Today the ground is shifting. The fight over communism over, as evidenced by the collapse of all leftist parties. Today the social war seems to be a revolt against the neo-liberalism, which represent the “best and the brightest”. The resentment is that with all their intelligence and education, the world is not becoming a fairer place, on the contrary. The new meritocracy is being rewarded at the expense of the rest. You see it in *Truimpland” and also in Marine-Le-Pen Land. You see it in the rise of the AfD in Germany, a party considered fringe a few years ago. VVPutin is riding that wave against the Russian liberals, who are nowhere politically in Russia. In Slovakia you have the old leader Fica who is making a comeback and Orban in Hungary is still one of the most popular leaders in the EU. There is a big reckoning happening.
Neoliberal capitalism won, the Social Democratic parties are killing the working middle class people. They helped to redistribute the wealth from the bottom to the top with deregulation, undermining unions, and privatizing with neoliberal economics. They stopped all parliamentary protection of the working class. That is why right of center parties are rising. Many Trump followers have legitimate grievances, but there is no eloquent leadership to put it in real context. The Democrats let the people down, the political left is dead. The AfD in Germany is right of center, the established parties are losing because they stabbed the working middle class in the back.
I may have misunderstood you. I thought you had the AfD in mind which is being denigrated by the opposition by calling them
RW extremists, code for NAZIs.
Russia did not finish the job in 1945.
Believing in the humanistic nature of the Western European “civilisation” was a grave error.
The elections in Ukraine after 2014 were even less democratic than in US. Maybe it makes sense to cancel them altogether and let narco-fuhrer to carry on with his duties forever.
A country with known links to Nazis, now has a President who has declared himself a dictator. So many boxes ticked.
I finally figured out what the neocons/neoliberals mean when they incessantly chant: “Ukraine, Zelensky, democracy, freedom!” They’re giving Zelensky the freedom to abolish Ukraine’s democracy. Well folks, like W said, Mission Accomplished!
That means the end of the year because before the end of this year, the Russian Armed Forces will be beyond Kyiv and the Kyiv Government will be gone . . . https://les7eb.substack.com/p/washingtons-ukraina-grandioznaya
Washington’s Ukraina Grandioznaya Skhema.
The Graveyard of This Empire.
It will have to be a big Graveyard, enough space to include the EU and NATO.
Even “South Vietnam” held elections during the years the US paid for its existence. They may have been rigged, but at least Washington and its puppets in Saigon pretended it was a democracy. Kyiv doesn’t even have to pretend to get its war bucks.
Ah, democracy in action; war fighting and taxation without representation. I remember it well in ’67 .
Sounds like Zelensky has decided he needs to enrich himself further. After all, what are a few more tens of thousands dead when it comes to enriching God’s chose one.
Sounds like Zelensky has decided he needs to enrich himself further. After all, what are a few more tens of thousands dead when it comes to enriching God’s chose one.
Hey I notice none of our good friends who showed up over the weekend with endless, almost robotic, comments are here … I wonder if they don’t get paid unless the story fits the narrative building exercise?
I doubt that it’s a matter of getting paid. More just a matter of not being able to determine what the line was, or is going to be 24 hours later, from the team they sided up with.
That’s the problem with buying an exclusive jersey and giant foam finger. Sometimes things get complex enough that you don’t know whether you should be waving and cheering or moaning and drowning your sorrow in beer. And you don’t want the other fans to see you getting it wrong.
“Revolution is a spectator sport. The majority will sit in the stands and watch the factions fight. At the end they will side with the team that is winning.”
– George Lincoln Rockwell
You sure know how to pick heroes for inspiration. 🙄
More wisdom from Rockwell:
“Our motto continues to be: ‘White Man, stand with us and fight, or stand out of our way!'”
“I do not hesitate to admit that I would do anything, absolutely anything, to ensure the survival and happiness of our White, Western People.”
“The color of your skin is your uniform in this ultimate battle for the survival of the West.”
“The Jews would build their own gas chambers if the price is right.”
Wiki: George Lincoln Rockwell”
Rockwell?
Ewwwwwwww…….
The head of the American Nazi party?
That is who you quote???????
This is not a site that is used to quotes from the likes of Rockwell.
Is Adolf next?
There is nothing complex or comment worthy about a partially occupied country under martial law postponing elections.
Anything that someone wants to comment on is “comment worthy.”
When the US was partially occupied by the Confederacy, it didn’t postpone elections outside the occupied territory.
But there was no federal law prohibiting elections during martial law, and most of the non-secessionist areas weren’t under martial law anyway. (I believe Maryland and Kentucky were for a time.)
It seems like a crappy law, but it had nothing to do with Zelensky — it went into effect in 2015.
I don’t know, Tom … that weekend job looked like a coordinated comment bombing spree to me.
And the palpable sense of confusion and disappointment when the whole thing folded so rapidly was interesting as well … almost as if it wasn’t supposed to be that way …
Well, anything is possible. We may never know even the basic facts, and will almost certainly never know the whole of it. I’m just speculating, like everyone else.
As moderator you probably develop a sense for these postings.
No moderating history personally but I’ve been commenting on various sites back to the late ‘90’s NYT’s initial setup. It was so freewheeling and raucous they went thru moderators every six months or so. A guy named Hampton Stevens lasted the longest because he was the best. He moved on to better things and the NYT’s ended it in the early 2000’s mostly because they couldn’t control the narrative or make any money from it.
It’s been my logic from all this, when you see sudden newbie(s) appear, trolling party line all day for several days, even weeks; then disappear, they are likely on someone’s payroll.
Eric Garris and I were talking the other day, both trying to remember when I got offered … so to speak … the moderator’s job. I think it was 2010 or so. Prior to that, I just did some volunteer stuff for the site, but they ran into a situation where the consensus on the board was “the comments have to be moderated, or we just won’t have comments,” and no one already on staff was willing to do it. I personally didn’t think much of the whole idea, but I decided I’d rather we kept allowing comments than not, so I took it.
It’s a thankless job, but thanks anyway.
It’s almost like when something major and newsworthy happens, a lot of people come here to see what the discussion is.
They surely got ticked off when the “coup” in Russia failed.
Of course not – per Zelensky. The Dictator can’t be deposed.
No surprise there lol whats he scared of ? , the people calling for a end to the war instigated by the US / UK ? .
Real democracy, learned from the West.
“Zelensky Says No Elections in Ukraine Until War Is Over”
Democracy in the most corrupt country in Europe!
Zelensky, he is the real joker in the deck of cards. Biden is in never-land.
On one hand he orders the US/NATO sh*t-heads what they have to deliver and how much and on the other hand he takes orders from DC not to negotiate for an end of the slaughter.
A quick check of Snopes will tell you that — in fact— the Ukrainian constitution does not allow elections during ML. (I personaly think you should hold elections whenever they are due but I didn’t write their constitution.)
That said, the war is going well for the Ukrainians. (They just crossed the 2014 borders of the DPR.) So, maybe elections sooner than expected?
Well, even if true.
That would mean that all a leader/political party has to go is declare martial law and he/they never has to face an election again.
That is very dangerous.
Zelenskyy might not be entirely to blame for this.
But elections should always go ahead.
Martial law/war/pandemic whatever.
Why check facts when you can just spout off?!
Well, even if true.
That would mean that all a leader/political party has to do is declare martial law and he/they never has to face an election again.
That is very dangerous.
Zelenskyy might not be entirely to blame for this.
But elections should always go ahead.
Martial law/war/pandemic whatever.
I agree 100%!
Cool!
Okay…this is just ridiculous.
You have elections regularly.
War or not.
This is NOTHING but a blatant power consolidation on Zelenskyy’s part.
Elections should be held immediately after the executions.
Mr. Z and the Adolph Eichmann syndrome:”I was just following orders (from Wash.”) Wash. is way too fearful of what an election could do to the war mongering and may result in less $$ for the war industry and make Wash. look like fools to the rest of the country; that is those who don’t already know what fools they really are. But, in Wash. a warmongering fool is a rich and re-elected fool, isn’t it? No shame in the Wash. game.
He already eliminated the political parties who could challenge him. And it’s not as if any honest elections have occurred since the Euromaidan riots, anyway. Nonetheless, he makes new enemies every day in his little rump state by sweeping men off the streets and using them as cannon fodder. It’s 10 minutes to midnight for him, and he knows it.
Sure he presides over an armed forces full of Nazis and Nazi regalia. Sure he just abolished elections. But you’re forgetting: he’s *Jewish* and Jewish people never do crazy aggressive or fascist things. Right Netanyahu?
Sounds more like Trump, and Putin than a Democrat.
Everybody’s very distraught about this, despite the fact that Ukraine’s constitution specifically disallows elections under martial law. And the fact that Russia didn’t allow them either until May. https://tass.com/politics/1624467
for those that have used AntiWar.com for over a decade will remember the words of the Coup leaders immediately after the 2014 coup, in that they were “going to get rid of the subhuman Russian speaking scum infesting Eastern Ukraine” We are now seeing Zelinski setting himself up as the New Ukrainian Dictator!
Translation: It’s only democracy when we say so.
Need some time to get Dominion setup over there.
Oh, Bill. Still not over the loss for your cult leader?
Well truth be told irrational one, I have no heroes among the two legged versions on earth, some I admire for their talents, but I put no one, not even the Orange one on a pedestal. Some are clearly much more capable of handling a position than others, but if you prefer the demented one, that sort of reflects on your irrational thinking. Change your moniker, there really is little that is rational in your statements.
Dark Brandon is driving you crazy, huh?
When the world is running down, you make the best of what’s still around. Credit to the group ‘Police’ for that line. No craziness here irrational one.
I like that comeback. (Truly)
Everybody’s very distraught about this, despite the fact that Ukrainian law specifically disallows elections under martial law, and has for years. And the fact that Russia didn’t allow them either until May.
You can read the law yourself here, under Article 19:
1. In the conditions of martial law, the following are prohibited:
changing the Constitution of Ukraine ;
amendment of the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea;
conducting elections of the President of Ukraine, as well as elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and local self-government bodies;
conducting all-Ukrainian and local referenda;
conducting strikes, mass meetings and actions [via Google translate
Easy fix.
Zelensky: “If there is no martial law, then there will be.”
Their parliament has to approve it; he can’t just declare it unilaterally.
You mean the Rump Rada, the US/EU imposed regime?
Yes, but he did declare it. So, I would assume he has some say in whether it could be lifted.
No elections, forced gunpoint conscription, anti retreat troops, book burning, banning of free speech, looting of churches, government death hit lists, mass murder of civilians, ethnic cleansing campaigns, assassination of peace negotiators, bombing of Nuclear power stations, destruction of Europes energy infrastructure, terrorism, rape, torture, massive human rights abuses etc etc etc.
Yep this is a Western war for freedom and democracy right? Up is Down, Black is White its all just big lies after big lies.
The Nazi’s are back in Europe and this time we fight shoulder to shoulder with them, brothers in arms. History will not treat us well.
“No elections, forced gunpoint conscription, anti retreat troops, book burning, banning of free speech, looting of churches, government death hit lists, mass murder of civilians, ethnic cleansing campaigns, assassination of peace negotiators, bombing of Nuclear power stations, destruction of Europes energy infrastructure, terrorism, rape, torture, massive human rights abuses etc etc etc.
Yep this is a Western war for freedom and democracy right? Up is Down, Black is White its all just big lies after big lies.
The Nazi’s are back in Europe and this time we fight shoulder to shoulder with them, brothers in arms. History will not treat us well.”
ABSOLUTELY.
Troubling sign but still the point of the exercise is to allow Ukraine to be Ukraine and not part of Russia.
To save Ukraine first we have to destroy Ukraine. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but 20% of Ukraine is now Russia.
So your comment is complete nonsense.
Putin said (paraphrasing)…..The war will be over when there is no Ukrainian soldiers anymore. When NATO cannot manufacture weapons.
Snipers at Maidan: The untold story of a massacre in Ukraine – Newsnight
Too late in the day now, courtesy of Polish and the rest of the unceremoniously subjugated (by nato and the US) EU, whose continuous efforts since the death of Ukraine as a sovereign state in 2014 have now brought all of us to the point of no return. Nothing short of a full-scale nuclear strike can stop the unstoppable expansion of the US into Europe via NATO at this moment. Naturally, the option does not exist for genuinely civilised Russia. And that is EXACTLY what the US and NATO are banking on in its relentlessly continuous expansion.