Zelensky says he won't seek re-election after war, will push for elections during potential ceasefire
President Volodymyr Zelensky won't seek a second term in office after Russia's full-scale war ends, he said in an interview with Axios published on Sept. 25.
Zelensky’s comments come amid ongoing peace efforts to end the war, although Russia refuses to agree to a ceasefire and continues its attacks on Ukraine.
"If we finish (the) war with (the) Russians, I'm ready not to go for the second term because it's not my goal — elections," Zelensky said in a released excerpt of the interview.
"I wanted very much in a very difficult period of time to be with my country, help my country. My goal is to finish the war."
Two months ago, the president's team faced a backlash after attempting to take away the independence of major anti-corruption institutions — a move that triggered the first street protests since the start of the full-scale war and was seen by critics as yet another attempt to consolidate power.
In his recent interviews with U.S. media, Zelensky also didn't rule out the possibility of holding elections in the event of a ceasefire if the security situation allows.
When asked whether he would commit to pushing forward to go for elections if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a several-month ceasefire, the Ukrainian president answered "yes."
Zelensky told Axios that during his Sept. 23 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York, he said Ukraine could use the ceasefire period to hold elections, and that he could "give this signal to the parliament."
Ukraine's Constitution prohibits elections under martial law, which has been in place since the onset of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022. To hold elections, the parliament must first lift the martial law and then set a date for the vote.
Russia has widely used the claim that Zelensky is illegitimate in its propaganda to discredit the Ukrainian government. The false claim is based on the premise that Zelensky's first term in office was originally meant to end on May 20, 2024.
Russia's full-scale invasion and the subsequent declaration of martial law in Ukraine has meant elections have been impossible to hold, and his term has been extended, something constitutional lawyers say is allowed under Ukrainian law.
