Lawyers specialized in Constitutional law said to the “Kyiv Independent” that extending Zelenskyy’s term is legal and in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine. Due to the martial law introduced when Putin sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in February 2022, elections will not be organized when Zelenskyy’s term technically expires on 20 May. The martial law in Ukraine explicitly prohibits the implementation of Presidential, Parliamentary and Local elections, writes Truthmeter.mk.
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We are fact-checking a post on the social network Facebook stating the following:
Russia’s Permanent Representative in the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said that after the 20th of May Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s authority will expire.
According to the diplomats, signing any kind of documents with Zelenskyy makes no sense.
It is not true that Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, authority will expire after the 20th of May, hence any kind of documents should not be signed with him. His term would have expired on the 20th of May if martial law had not been enforced in Ukraine. However, as a consequence of the Russian military invasion of this country, his authority is extended. Russian propaganda is attempting to exploit this situation in every possible way, with Zelenskyy’s allegedly expired term now becoming the Kremlin’s latest topic for spreading disinformation and manipulation.
The war initiated by Russia postponed the elections in Ukraine and therefore Zelenskyy’s term is undefined. His cabinet is preparing to survive the storm of disinformation from the propagandists who will be questioning his legitimacy.
Officially, the administration of Ukraine stays away from the topic. Unofficially, its members have been warning allies for months that Russia was preparing a targeted campaign to undermine Zelenskyy’s legitimacy in the eyes of Ukrainians and the West, reported the Kyiv Independent.
Two sources from the President’s cabinet anonymously spoke for the Kyiv Independent stating that the Western allies were familiar with these threats and did not press for Ukraine to organize new Presidential and Parliamentary elections in the near future.
Undermining Zelenskyy’s legitimacy is part of Russia’s multi-component plan to destabilize Ukraine, said Deputy Chief of Military Intelligence Vadym Skibitsky in a recent interview.
Lawyers specialized in Constitutional law told the “Kyiv Independent” that extending Zelenskyy’s term is legal and in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine. Due to the martial law introduced when Putin sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in February 2022, elections will not take place when Zelenskyy’s term technically expires on the 20th of May, something that he and Ukraine’s allies deem as the right decision to take at times of war.
On the 20th of May, Zelenskyy said in an interview for Reuters that he had to continue due to the martial law enforced.
Five years… it’s not finished yet. I am going to continue because of the martial law, he stated for the Reuters.
If martial law had not been enforced, the next Presidential Elections in Ukraine would have taken place on the 31st of March 2024, while Zelenskyy’s term would have ended on the 20th of May 2024. However, Ukraine introduced martial law once Russia initiated a full-scale military invasion on the 24th of February 2022. The martial law in Ukraine explicitly prohibits the organization of Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local elections.
Numerous politicians expressed their support for the legitimacy of Zelenskyy.
It is impossible to organize elections in martial law situations. We in the EU have no doubts that President of Ukraine is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated Peter Stano on a press-conference.
Due to the above-noted facts the fact-checked post is assessed as untrue.
