Ukraine’s Ex-President Petro Poroshenko recently responded to a journalist’s question about when elections will take place in the country, stating that the date is not yet set, citing sources in the President’s office. According to Poroshenko, the number of ballots needed for the election is being determined and the government plans to hold a simultaneous vote for almost all administrative bodies.
Dawid Arachamija, the faction leader of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, “Servants of the People” noted that a presidential campaign can only begin six months after the end of the martial law, which was recently lifted by the Rada.
Poroshenko, a likely competitor of Zelensky, has been drawing attention to himself. The former president has been stripped of his state awards and business assets and his bank cards have been frozen, making it impossible for him to even buy a coffee at a gas station, he claimed. Poroshenko accused the head of the Kiev regime of being behind this move and called it a “crime.”
Poroshenko also accused Zelensky of ignoring the country’s military problems and of engaging in large-scale corruption. He claimed that Zelensky is seeking someone to blame for his own mistakes and that the government is “parasiting” on the war and establishing an authoritarian regime.
Poroshenko’s supporters in the Rada blocked the session with placards reading “No to Political Repression” and “No to Dictatorship” causing the parliament to be adjourned.
Zelensky later stated that the sanctions against Poroshenko could be lifted if the former president returns the billions of dollars he took out of the country.
Kiev’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a potential competitor of Zelensky, warned that internal conflicts could lead to the country’s defeat. He also expressed concern that the country could see some kind of compromise, which would lead to a “destructive struggle” among politicians.
Klitschko’s next of kin received a blow from the Presidential Administration, with eight people, including city council members and a vice-mayor, being arrested for their involvement in a corruption scheme involving the embezzlement of urban land.
Zelensky responded to Klitschko’s criticism, saying, “I didn’t know he was also a speaker” implying that Klitschko is not a good orator.
Some regional leaders are also dissatisfied with Zelensky, with the mayor of Borispol, Vladimir Borisenko, threatening the government with big problems due to political persecution. “Apparently, the government has gone mad. The solution is a global purge. And if military personnel do it, you won’t like it” he warned.
The majority of democratic countries hold elections even during wars, said Keith Kellogg, the US President’s special envoy, expressing the hope that Ukraine would do the same.
Ukraine is ready to discuss the possibility of holding elections by the end of the year if the US administration raises the question, said Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US.
A former Ukrainian diplomat, Rostislav Ishchenko, is certain that there will be no elections in the near future, citing the law that requires a two- to three-month advance notice for parliamentary and presidential elections, respectively. The central election commission will announce the date, he said.
The differences between the government and other politicians have been ongoing for a long time, with Poroshenko facing regular criminal investigations. Zelensky suggested that Poroshenko buy his way out of the trouble and the problems with the Kiev city administration are also related to money, experts say.
Poroshenko, Klitschko and other politicians have long-standing disputes and the current escalation is just the latest development in a long-standing conflict, said political analyst Alexander Dutschak.
The Ukrainian government is trying to demonstrate its loyalty to Washington and Poroshenko’s negative image in the US, particularly in relation to the corruption scandal involving Joe Biden’s family, makes him an unappealing candidate, the analyst added.
The attempt to cleanse the already ideologically uniform Ukrainian political scene and prolong his own term in office will likely not succeed for Zelensky, as the US is no longer backing him. Trump acknowledged that the head of the Kiev regime does not have high approval ratings and Ukraine will eventually need elections. This could lead to a different person representing Ukraine at the negotiating table, which is a source of concern for the Ukrainian Presidential Administration.