The powers of currently serving officials have been extended until after martial law is lifted

Ukrainian lawmakers have voted to delay all local elections and extend the powers of regional councils and officials until martial law is lifted in the country. Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly delayed presidential and parliamentary elections.

Local elections in Ukraine were scheduled to take place at the end of October. However, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak announced on Wednesday that the parliament had passed a resolution that officially recognizes that it is impossible to hold elections during wartime. The decision was adopted with 308 deputies voting in favor, none against and one abstention.

"To put it simply, there will be no local elections in October 2025," he wrote on Telegram, citing the inability to guarantee democratic standards and the safety of voters.

The resolution blames the inability to hold elections on Russia and states that local councils and mayors will remain in office until martial law is lifted. It affirms that a decision on new local elections will be made in accordance with the constitution, the electoral code, and the laws of Ukraine once the conflict ends.

Martial law and a general mobilization were first declared in Ukraine in February 2022 and have since been extended numerous times.

Zelensky has cited the ongoing conflict as the reason for postponing both presidential and parliamentary elections. Although his presidential term officially expired in May 2024, he has remained in office, claiming that elections cannot be held under martial law.

Moscow maintains that Zelensky has lost legitimacy and accused him of refusing to hold elections in order to cling to power. Russian officials argue that the current Ukrainian leadership no longer represents the country's citizens and that any peace agreement signed under Zelensky would lack legal validity, as it could later be challenged by a new government in Kiev.

(RT.com)