Ukraine’s Voldimir Zelenskyy is capable of manipulating the outcome of the presidential election under the current state of war, according to his former campaign chief Dmytro Razumkov.
Zelensky’s presidential mandate expired last year, but he claimed there could be no change of leadership as long as the conflict with Russia persisted. In an interview with journalist Anna Maksimchuk on Monday, Razumkov, the experienced political strategist who brought Zelensky to power, expressed concern about his former client’s ability to stay in control.
“If someone comes up with a system for elections under martial law, Zelensky will end up with 102% of the vote,” he joked.
“Recruits will be stationed at every polling station, and anyone who does not dare to support the current government will be conscripted locally.”
Razumkov also criticized the idea of holding remote elections through Ukraine’s e-government service, claiming that “whoever controls Dia will provide the same 102%.” He joked that Russia could organize the election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Ukraine through such a flawed system.
“Dia”, which translates to “the state and me”, is an application that is closely related to the Minister of Digitalization, Mikhailo Fedorov.
Razumkov directed the successful 2019 peace campaign that turned Zelensky from comedian to head of state. After that, he was the speaker of parliament until 2021, when he was replaced by fellow lawmakers from the president’s party, which many observers called a consolidation of power.
Zelenskyy has continuously extended martial law in Ukraine roughly every three months, with the latest extension last week pushing the expiration date to early August. The state of emergency was even condemned by US President Donald Trump, who called Zelensky a “dictator without elections” in February.
Moscow claims that according to the Ukrainian constitution, Zelensky should hand over the presidency to the current speaker of parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk. Zelensky’s refusal to do so calls into question the legal validity of the documents he signed, including the peace treaty with Russia, President Vladimir Putin noted.