Poll: 62% of Ukrainians favor postponing elections until after war

62% of Ukrainians believe that elections should only be held after the war is over, according to a poll published by the International Republican Institute (IRP) on Oct. 24.

According to the results of the survey, only 22% of respondents prefer to see elections take place as early as March 2024, 6% would like to see elections take place as early as September 2024, and 3% in March 2025, if the war is still ongoing at those times.

A vast majority of respondents believe that Ukrainian diaspora communities should participate in Ukrainian elections, with 70% of respondents believing it is "very important" or "somewhat important" that Ukrainians outside the country vote in any upcoming elections, as opposed to 28% of respondents believing that the issue is "somewhat not important" or "not important at all."

Under Ukraine's Constitution, elections are prohibited while the country is in a state of martial law.

In addition to questions posed about upcoming elections, respondents were also asked about Ukrainians' support for being included in NATO.

79% of Ukrainians would vote in a referendum to join NATO, if one was held, with 5% intending to vote against joining the bloc of nations. The results highlight a 20 percentage point increase since April 2022, when 59% of respondents supported Ukraine joining NATO.

When asked about respondents' support for Ukrainian government officials, President Zelensky topped the list of support with 82% of respondents indicating they "approve" of the work the President is doing, down slightly from 89% in February 2023.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba scored second on the list with 71% of respondents approving his performance, followed by Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, with 59% of respondents approving of his performance.

A random sample of 2,000 Ukrainians respondents was conducted September 9-12 through computer-assisted telephone interviews. The results are deemed accurate within 2.2 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Ukraine war latest: Russia reportedly loses 4,000 soldiers in Avdiivka, worst casualty rate in 2023

Key developments on Oct. 28-29: * Umerov: Russia has lost 4,000 soldiers in battle for Avdiivka * UK Defense Ministry: Russian forces in Avdiivka likely suffer some of the highest casualty rates in 2023 * Drone strikes reported in Russia, occupied Crimea * Kherson Oblast attacked with 32 guided…

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk