«This is not a priority,» — People's Deputy Pasichnyi believes that holding elections during war is impossible

People's Deputy of Ukraine Oleksandr Pasichnyi said that he does not believe in conducting presidential or parliamentary elections in the country under martial law.

He announced this on the air of the MART TV channel.

Oleksandr Pasichnyi believes that elections are not a priority for the state during a war, stressing that constitutionally Ukraine cannot hold elections in a state of war.

— We live in a democratic state and the results of the work of any political party are elections. If we talk about the situation in our country, then I do not believe in elections. This is not our priority at all. Now we work as a team primarily for the sake of victory. In addition, constitutionally we cannot hold elections, the Constitution must be changed in order to hold them in wartime. The only way to hold elections is to abolish martial law, so when that happens, then there will be elections, — he said.

In particular, the people's deputy pointed to the experience of Great Britain, where the parliament and local deputies continued to work even during the military conflict. He emphasizes that currently Ukrainian deputies have transferred a significant part of their powers to the executive power and are actively working on patriotic initiatives to support the country.

— There is the experience of Great Britain, where the parliament and local deputies worked for 10 years when there was a war. We do not hold on to any positions, because all deputies of all levels have transferred a lot of powers to the executive branch of government. And now we work as ordinary people who have a patriotic attitude and want to help in any way, including using our positions, knowledge, skills, connections, we attract partners and friends. There is a lot of work, so now it is simply not a priority, — Oleksandr Pasichnyi summed up.

We remind that in August of this year, US Senator from the Republican Party Lindsey Graham addressed the President of Ukraine. He said that elections should be held in Ukraine next year.

In addition, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk recently stated that the Constitution of Ukraine does not prohibit holding elections during martial law. He emphasized the need to make «important decisions» in this matter, «so that the state is not torn apart by elections during the war, but, on the other hand, to ensure the flow of democracy».

At the same time, the head of Mykolayiv RMA Vitalii Kim does not have information about possible preparations for holding elections during martial law.

In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he will run for president if the elections are held during the war.

According to the results of the survey of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, conducted from September 30 to October 13, the absolute majority of Ukrainians believe that national elections should be held after the end of the war, but now is not the time.