Tag Archives: elections in Ukraine

Rigging An Election By Deciding Who Can Vote

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On Sunday, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plans to hold an election in Ukraine.

The article reports:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to hold elections if there is a ceasefire. However, Eastern Ukraine citizens, those currently living in the Donbas region, who are supportive of Russia, will not be permitted to vote.

This creates a rather bizarre official hypocrisy within the Zelenskyy regime. The official position of Zelenskyy is that Eastern Ukraine will never be accepted as a part of the Russian federation.

Zelenskyy has recently noted, with EU leadership support, that his government will never recognize Eastern Ukraine as part of the Russian federation. However, this same region, approximately 20% of Ukraine, will not be permitted to participate in his controlled election.

Essentially, any Ukraine resident who does not support Zelenskyy will not be permitted to vote in any election, if any election is ever permitted. Additionally, Zelenskyy notes that “there is the practice of voting abroad,” however, any region not controlled by Zelenskyy cannot submit votes.

Zelenskyy claims that if the election included Eastern Ukraine there would be no way to insure the security of the election. He may actually be right on that, but there are other factors at work here. Allowing an election is a public relations move–it is one way to fight the claim that he is a dictator. Actually, he is a dictator, and the corruption surrounding Ukraine and its war is immense. There are a lot of people in Ukraine, Europe, and America who are making a lot of money because of this war, and they have no desire to see it end. The money America has sent to Ukraine has never been audited, and there have been charges that some of the military equipment we have given them has been sold on eBay.

Making peace in Ukraine is not going to be easy. The propagandists who want to war to continue are using the same domino theory that they used for the war in Vietnam. The only way to stop this war is to cut off the flow of money.

Is It Democratic To Hold Elections?

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On October 6th, The New York Sun posted an article about elections in Ukraine. There is currently a discussion as to whether or not elections can be held under Marshall Law.

The article reports:

Is it possible to hold a free and fair election in a country where bombs disrupt every other aspect of life? President Zelensky and Ukraine’s Western allies say yes. Opposition and electoral figures at Kyiv are less sure.

Mr. Zelensky, who has united the country and is currently likely to win an election by a landslide, says the country is ready to hold a vote under martial law. Election and parliamentary officials disagree, saying that the election should be postponed until after the war and that even this exercise would present significant challenges.

The only ones who want elections today are the president and those people now in government, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, Dmytro Razumkov, tells the Sun. “When we talk to the opposition, we all agree that it is going to be impossible to have fair and democratic elections,” he adds.

Ukraine’s Western allies are pressing Kyiv to hold elections in 2024 despite the war. Senator Graham visited Kyiv earlier this year and asked Ukraine’s government to hold elections to “take the next step in the development of democracy.” Even as it exhibits valor in wartime, the country is still widely seen as a nontransparent and corrupt nation.

Elections cannot be held under martial law, according to Ukraine’s constitution. Yet, Mr. Zelensky, who has been fighting for Ukraine’s bid to enter the European Union, says he is willing to change the law.

Before I comment on the above, I need to mention that I don’t believe anything I read about Ukraine. There are too many people invested in the destruction the war brings and too many people who will profit by keeping Mr. Zelensky in office. It is telling that the Clinton Foundation has already signed on to be one of the organizations that helps build the country after the war ends (assuming it ever ends).

The article concludes:

Mr. Razumkov says the president could be pushing for elections due to his high popularity among Ukrainians and because there is no other candidate who could confront him in the race.

In February, 90 percent of the population approved of Mr. Zelensky, according to data from Statista. This is a steep jump from pre-war figures. In March 2021, 38 percent approved of Mr. Zelensky, according to the data.

Holding elections at this time will divide a country that needs to be united, Mr. Razumkov says. For those who are pushing Ukraine toward elections, “I would say that if they want to support democratic Ukraine with democratic elections, they shouldn’t push Ukraine to have elections” now, he adds.