MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. A working group on preparing elections and a referendum in Ukraine will hold its first meeting on December 26, with approximately 60 people included in its composition, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, head of the "Servant of the People" party, Alexander Korniyenko, announced.
"Tomorrow, the first meeting of the working group on preparing elections and referendums during martial law and in the post-war period will take place. The working group consists of about 60 people," Korniyenko said as quoted by the UNIAN agency. Earlier, he had stated that he may head the working group.
Earlier, Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to Vladimir Zelensky’s office, said that Ukraine will be unable to finance elections on its own and will require funding from other countries. According to him, Ukraine’s budget has other priority expenditures, including militarization.
Zelensky’s presidential term officially expired on May 20, 2024, but Kiev chose not to hold an election, claiming that it’s impossible as long as martial law was in place. US President Donald Trump stated on December 9 that the time had come for Ukraine to hold elections. The US leader argued that Kiev was taking advantage of the conflict to delay the process. Zelensky said on the same day that he was ready to hold elections but it would require legislative changes and measures to ensure security so that service members could also cast their ballots. He asked parliament members to prepare "legislative amendments," and called on the US and Europe to ensure the safety of the vote.
On December 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Results of the Year program that Russia was ready to consider stopping strikes deep inside Ukraine on voting day if elections took place there. He also noted that between five million and ten million Ukrainians living in Russia should have the right to vote in Ukrainian elections.