MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/. A petition proposing the criminalization of calls for holding elections in Ukraine has been put to a vote on the official website of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

"We ask the president of Ukraine to introduce appropriate changes to the legislation so that [calls for holding elections] during martial law <...> entail criminal liability," the petition reads. So far, it has garnered 196 votes. At least 25,000 votes are required for Zelensky to consider the proposal.

On November 6, Zelensky said that now is the wrong moment for holding elections, and demanded a halt to attempts to "throw [this issue] out into society" for discussion. Zelensky's statement was made after an upsurge in public debate over the possibility of holding elections. There have been reports, citing sources, that the Ukrainian authorities were beginning preparations for the election of the country’s president in the spring of 2024.

Parliamentary elections were to be held in Ukraine in October and the presidential election in the spring of 2024. Under the Ukrainian constitution, however, elections cannot be held while martial law is in effect. Zelensky has repeatedly said that it would be possible to hold the election for head of state only after the end of hostilities. However, Kiev's Western partners, who have repeatedly ramped up arms supplies to Ukraine and allocated funds to prop up the Ukrainian economy since the outbreak of hostilities, are insisting that the election be held within the stipulated timeframe. In this connection, Zelensky softened his rhetoric. Without giving an unambiguous answer, he noted that it would be difficult to hold the election while conducting active combat operations and even proposed that the US finance the electoral process if it was so crucial for Washington.