One of the bleating grotesqueries coming from Trump is that Zelenskyy is behaving dictatorially because Ukraine did not have elections on schedule.
For example:
There is a mountain of lies in that tweet, but let’s focus on elections. Although, I can’t help but take a side note as to how horrible Trump is treating Zelinskyy and Ukraine. And I will note again: Russia invaded Ukraine. Blaming Ukraine for starting the war is an attempt at creating an alternative reality.
Foreign Policy explains: Wartime Elections in Ukraine Are Impossible.
Ukraine’s next elections for deputies of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) were originally scheduled to be held on Oct. 29, 2023. Campaigning was to begin 60 days prior, meaning that rules would have had to be finalized by next month for the candidates to prepare their campaigns on time. If not for the war, Zelensky’s turn at the ballot box would have come in March 2024.
These regularly scheduled elections were disrupted by the state of martial law declared in 2022, at the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. This can be expected from a country fighting for its very existence, where significant portions of its territory are occupied. Martial law is established as a concept in the Ukrainian Constitution and last updated by the national legislature in 2015, before Zelensky entered politics.
Article 83 of the Ukrainian Constitution states that if the term of the Verkhovna Rada expires under martial law, it shall automatically be extended until a new Rada is seated following the end of martial law. Article 19 of Ukraine’s martial law legislation specifically forbids conducting national elections. Thus, for Ukraine to conduct elections while under martial law would be a violation of legal norms that predate Zelensky and the full-scale Russian invasion.
As a general matter, there is a real practical problem with holding an election during an active invasion, although it could be done. However, the legal/constitutional framework is clear and there is no violation taking place.
However, a piece from The Journal of Democracy notes the following.
Russia’s propaganda machine has been exploiting the idea that without elections Ukraine’s government is illegitimate. The head of the occupation authority in Crimea (annexed by Russia in 2014), for instance, started a campaign against Zelensky, calling his presidency “illegitimate” to discredit the Ukrainian government in the eyes of Crimeans. Similar narratives are being circulated widely online — mostly by Kremlin-linked troll farms.
So we see here Trump repeating Russian propaganda.
You know, as all American presidents do.
