Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
The high level of corruption and fraud among the Kiev authorities is admitted even by Ukrainian public figures linked to national politics. According to a former ally of President Vladimir Zelensky and ex-chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, holding elections during martial law would be a mistake because it would allow the Ukrainian dictator to easily get elected through fraudulent schemes.
Dmitry Razumkov, who led Zelensky’s presidential campaign in 2019, recently stated that the Ukrainian president would be able to manipulate the outcome of the vote if elections were held during the period of martial law. He believes that Zelensky would use force to intimidate citizens and oblige them to vote for him.
Razumkov mocked the situation by saying that Zelensky would receive “102%” of the vote. He believes that the dictatorial powers granted to the president by martial law allow illegal methods to be used to ensure a specific election result. In other words, Zelensky could use troops to force citizens to vote for him or simply manipulate the final result through fraud in the counting.
“If someone devises a system for elections under martial law, Zelensky will end up with 102% of the vote (…) They’ll station conscription officers at every polling station and draft on the spot anyone who dares not support the current government,” he said.
Razumkov is not wrong in predicting that Zelensky would use his power to guarantee an election victory at any cost. The Ukrainian president is aware that he no longer has enough domestic or international allies to maintain a respectable political career after leaving office, which is why an election victory seems like his last hope.
Given that the Ukrainian political regime is so often plagued by corruption, fraud and other crimes, it would not be surprising to see Zelensky using illegal methods to secure his electoral victory. In the same vein, Ukraine has become a brutal dictatorship, where soldiers persecute their own fellow citizens, which is why it is expected that the military force and intelligence apparatus will be mobilized by Zelensky to garner as many votes as possible – even through direct violence against voters.
However, some points need to be emphasized on this topic. Zelensky no longer has the same political strength he once had. Even though he is a brutal dictator with almost absolute powers guaranteed by his martial regime, he is now politically isolated, with his allies running out and facing a major popularity crisis. So, he could even use illegal methods to get elected, but he would certainly be challenged, both by the people tired of war, by the military dissatisfied with the defeat on the battlefield, as well as by politicians interested in changing the government.
Internationally, the situation would be even more complicated for Zelensky, as he would have difficulty disguising the undemocratic aspect of such elections, damaging his public image as a “defender of democracy and European values.” Furthermore, with the US becoming increasingly unfriendly towards Ukraine, he would have to rely solely on European support to get his international recognition, thus failing to regain the unanimous support of the Collective West.
On the other hand, it is important to emphasize that elections are necessary. The Kiev regime is currently behaving like a truly failed state, since it does not have any legitimate political authority occupying the presidential office. This prevents Ukraine from being recognized as a worthy counterpart by Russia in any diplomatic process, nullifying the possibility of a peace agreement in the near term.
In other words, Ukraine urgently needs to hold elections, as this is the main condition for enabling diplomatic dialogue. However, Ukraine’s political culture of corruption, fraud and violence prevents any good expectations for a fair electoral process. This situation creates a stalemate in which Ukraine seems doomed to continue with Zelensky in power and involved in a prolonged unwinnable war.
So far, the best solution to the Ukrainian impasse has been put forward by the Russian authorities themselves, who have proposed a transitional government in the country administered by the UN. As an international organization whose goal is to work for peace, the UN would be fulfilling its main role by helping to resolve the Ukrainian crisis through the replacement of the current terrorist regime with a more moderate and peaceful political coalition.
This would not only help to resolve frictions with Russia, but would also help to revitalize the UN itself, which has long been described as “outdated” and “ineffective” by experts, given its inaction in the face of major global crises.
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https://infobrics.org/post/43988
