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Ukrainians’ trust in Zelensky dips after wartime protests, pollster finds
(www.straitstimes.com)
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this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2025
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People get mad when I say this but there’s no good reason Ukraine can’t hold an election. Especially when the war doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon…
Maybe people get mad because it seems like you haven't thought this through. I mean maybe it would be easier than I think but it seems basically impossible to hold a fair and safe election under the conditions Ukraine is dealing with right now.
Why would it be impossible?
Plenty of countries have held elections during wartime before. It will take some thought towards security and other issues but I haven’t seen any reason it wouldn’t be doable.
Ok well, maybe I'm wrong but I really don't see how you can have a free and fair election when:
This is what I can come up with off the top of my head as a layman. I'm sure there are other issues I haven't touched on.
I'd love to hear a coherent explanation about how you can possibly have fair and free elections under these conditions. Having an election during wartime is not the same as having an election when you are under occupation and having your capital city droned every day.
I expect you won’t like my solutions but they’re the best they can be, given the circumstances. No election in the world is ever perfect. But It’s better to make a good effort towards democratic governance than to give up. The powerful can always come up with a reason democracy isn’t practical, but it’s up to the people to demand practical solutions to these obstacles, or suggest our own.
First, the fact that a large portion of Ukraine has been conquered is very unfortunate, but the obvious solution is to exclude these areas from the election. Of course it would be preferable to include them, but I don’t see how this would be practical. Still, it’s better to disenfranchise only some of Ukraine than all of the country.
Absentee ballot systems have existed for soldiers for literal centuries so this one is a known and solved issue.
The drone strikes are certainly an issue and consideration must be given to defense. With appropriate planning, a larger number of polling stations could be developed to minimize large gatherings. In dense areas, stations could be located in bunkers or other similarly well-defended areas. Enabling universal vote-by-mail could also help avoid the need to gather in person.
I don’t think it’s true that every resource is going towards the war effort. The economy must continue, governance must continue, and most people in Ukraine are not directly involved in combat. I am sure some spare labor can be made available for such an important purpose. If the efforts need to be done with a smaller than normal workforce, preparations could seek volunteers and take place over an extended period to minimize the load.
For the last point see above with respect to security. I think an early voting model will be best as well, to enable people to vote over an extended period rather than all at once, in case it becomes unsafe to vote at a particular time or place.
Overall, some of these are certainly significant challenges that will require large changes to the way elections are conducted. However, with no end in sight for this war, Ukrainians need to start planning for how democratic governance can continue on the face of what may be an extended occupation of parts of their territory. Given that elections are already postponed, this will give ample time to improve on and implement these ideas. I could even see trial runs of local elections first to see how things go before doing national elections since those will have lower stakes for the war effort.
Ok I think we have some pretty fundamental differences here. Firstly, I never suggested nor do I believe anyone has suggested giving up. This is not a choice between having elections or giving up democracy, it's a choice between having elections now or waiting until later. This war will not last forever, one way or another.
Secondly, I never said the election had to be perfect and I disagree in the strongest possible terms that it's better to "make a good effort" or have as good of an election that you can under the circumstances. An election must be free and fair, or it's actively damaging to the democratic status of a country. I don't see how any of your proposed solutions here can result in a free and fair election and I personally would not accept anything less than that so we have a fundamental disagreement here.
Appreciate you taking the time to come back and write up your thoughts though.
These are all very solvable. Too late for me to write it all out but I’ll try to do so tomorrow if I have time.
I have to say I'm very doubtful of that but I promise to do my best to read your response with an open mind. Have a good night, mate.
Wouldn't it be better if Russia held an election? This would end the war quickly.
Apparently not since they had one last year.
I guess they meant a real one
@LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
Thank you for the reminder. I am sure you'd find a lot of independent reports on this 'election' they had last year.
If you can't guarantee as good or better president, then it's an existential threat for Ukraine.
There’s never a guarantee with democracy. But it’s better than the guarantee of tyranny, which is what you inevitably get without them.