Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko claims that Ukrainian authorities plan to hold presidential elections by the end of this year.
"Write down - October 26 of this year," Poroshenko said in an interview published on the Ukrainian website Censor.net on February 16.
Poroshenko, who currently leads one of the leading opposition parties in Ukraine, claims that the state printing house is now calculating the number of ballots needed to hold the election.
He said he received this information from anonymous insiders from the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who were also quoted in local media.
"According to our sources, the (Ukrainian) Election Commission is starting to make changes to the voter register. (…) This is solely for the purpose of preparing for the elections," he said.
However, the parliamentary leader of Zelensky's party, Servant of the People, denied Poroshenko's claim.
"During a state of emergency, it is impossible to hold elections (…) The leaders of all parties have agreed that elections will not be held for at least six months after the end of the state of emergency," David Arakhamia said in a statement on Telegram.
Zelensky's five-year term was supposed to end last year on May 20.
Presidential elections were scheduled to be held in March or April 2024, but were postponed because the country is still under a state of emergency. According to the Ukrainian Constitution, Zelensky must continue to perform his duties until a new head of state is elected.
Ukraine has been under a state of emergency since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Parliament has extended the state of emergency 14 times in 90-day intervals, with the latest extension running until May 9.
Poroshenko's February 16 claim about preparations for the election came days after the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Kiev had imposed sanctions on the former president, including an asset freeze and a ban on capital withdrawals from the country.
"Everyone who threatened Ukraine's national security and helped Russia must be held accountable," Zelensky said on Telegram on February 13, the day after the sanctions were imposed.
Poroshenko condemned the move, calling it "unconstitutional" and "politically motivated."
"The sanctions imposed against me as the leader of the opposition and the fifth president carry absolutely illegal restrictions," he said on February 13.
One of the richest people in Ukraine, who largely gained his fortune by building a successful business empire in the confectionery industry after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Poroshenko served as president from 2014 to 2019, when he lost to Zelensky in a bid for a second term.
Considered a possible candidate in any future Ukrainian presidential election, Poroshenko has previously rejected the idea of holding elections while the country is at war, saying during a visit to Paris last month that the only "winner" of such a vote would be Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Poroshenko said that Putin would use propaganda and a "fifth column" to undermine Ukraine during any election campaign.
In an interview with Reuters last week, US President Donald Trump's envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Washington wants Kiev to hold elections, possibly by the end of this year.
When asked about the possibility, Zelensky told The Guardian that Ukrainians are upset by such statements.
"It is very important that Kellogg comes to Ukraine. Then he would understand the people and all our circumstances," Zelensky said.
Many analysts and politicians have cited concerns about security, displaced voters, and infrastructure as the main obstacles to holding any legitimate elections in Ukraine under the current circumstances.
Kellogg is scheduled to visit Ukraine on February 20, Zelensky said at a virtual press conference with Ukrainian journalists on February 17.
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