Sienkevych does not support the idea of holding elections during the war: «I don't know how it will help to win»

The mayor of Mykolaiv Oleksandr Sienkevych does not support the idea of holding presidential, parliamentary and local elections in the country during the war.

The mayor voiced this position during his press conference on the results of 2023, NikVesti reports.

«I think that now is not the time for elections. Our planned elections should be held in October-November 2025. Unscheduled ones are not expected yet. And in today's conditions, at least, you have to live until that time. Surviving the bombing in Mykolaiv and the like. This question now, I think, will only excite society. I promised neither to run for office nor not to run for office. Therefore, I have an opportunity for steps. But for me today this question does not arise at all. Today, the question is how to survive this war,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

In his opinion, holding elections will not affect the political situation in the country and the course of the war.

«Again, I say that it is too far to think about the elections. Today we have a war. The last time I was in Bucharest, I was a panelist, one of the panelists said that Ukraine needs to hold elections today in order to legitimize the government or become more transparent and accessible to foreign partners. I do not know how today's elections in Ukraine can affect the political landscape and help win at the front. That is, I think that it is physically impossible to do. And secondly, it will not give the opportunity to vote to those Ukrainians who are either at the front or abroad today. Therefore, any election during the war, in my opinion, is a bad story,» the mayor explained his position.

We remind that in May 2023, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, commenting on the upcoming elections, said that he was looking forward to their holding, because it should happen immediately after Ukraine's victory in the war against the Russian invaders.

In addition, the parliament declared that after the end of the war, a «small transitional period» regarding elections would be required: 4-5 months. At the same time, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk stated that the Constitution of Ukraine does not prohibit holding elections during martial law.

In August 2023, US Senator Lindsey Graham from the Republican Party addressed the President of Ukraine. He said that elections should be held in Ukraine next year. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that he will run for president if the elections are held during the war.

It is known that 63.8% of surveyed Ukrainians have a negative attitude to the idea of holding national elections in the country before the end of the war, and only 15.1% of citizens are positive, 21% are undecided.

In addition, People's Deputy of Ukraine, who represents the interests of Mykolaiv Oblast residents in the parliament, Oleksandr Pasichnyi stated that he does not believe in conducting presidential or parliamentary elections in the country under martial law.

It was also reported that Major General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Dmytro Marchenko said that he wants the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army Valerii Zaluzhnyi to run for the post of President of Ukraine in the upcoming elections. When asked whether he would take the post of commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the event of Valerii Zaluzhnyi's presidency, Dmytro Marchenko replied that he would rather join his team. Later Dmytro Marchenko explained his statement. According to him, it was about possible ideas for the future peaceful life of the country.

Prior to that, Mykolaiv City Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych announced that he was going to run for another term.