Ukrainian parliament affirms Zelenskyy’s legitimacy

A resolution confirming Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s stay in office and confirming the constitutionality of postponing the election while the country is at war has received overwhelmingly from the Ukrainian parliament.

The resolution was approved by the 268 parliamentarians present on Tuesday, but 12 other MPs were absent.

The parliamentary leadership created the resolution as a resounding endorsement of Zelenskyy, whose regular term ended in May.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertions, US President Donald Trump had previously called Zelenskyy a “dictator” because he hasn’t held elections in recent years.

However, elections cannot be held under Ukrainian law as long as there is still a state of martial law in the area. Following the Russian invasion in February 2022, martial law was in effect.

“The Verkhovna Rada once again recalls that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected in free, transparent, democratic elections. The Verkhovna Rada or the Ukrainian people have not questioned his authority, the resolution read.

The document also made reference to Article 108 of the Ukrainian Constitution, which provides that the current head of state is in power until the next president is elected.

The Ukrainian Parliament unanimously affirms President Zelensky’s legitimacy and the constitutional requirement preventing elections during the period of martial law.

268 YES
0 NO
12 NOT PRESENT pic. twitter.com/WHUMH3XLx7

Trump had repeated reports from Russian media that the Ukrainian leader only had an “approval rating” of 4% in polls.

Zelenskyy, however, has a 57% approval rating in a survey conducted this month by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

This indicates Zelenskyy is “maintaining his legitimacy,” the institute said, despite the decline from the 90 percent peak immediately after Russia’s invasion.

The Ukrainian parliament’s vote on Tuesday was reversed from the previous day, when the resolution received 218 votes, falling eight votes short of the 226 required votes to pass.

Since there aren’t always enough members of his own party in parliament, Zelenskyy has so far been able to rely on shifting majority in parliament to pass legislation.