Volodymyr Zelenskyy will run for president if the elections are held in 2024 during the war, he said this in an interview with Portuguese public television RTP, BBC News Ukraine reports.
"In 2024, if the war continues, and if elections are held, I will never in my life leave my country. Because I am the guarantor of the Constitution, and I will defend it in any case," President Zelenskyy answered a journalist when asked if he was going to run for office.
Zelenskyy also clarified some of the conditions for the election. In particular, the elections should be held on Ukrainian territory so that the military can vote, on the front line, so we need observers from all over the world.
"I want everything to be according to the law, transparent and democratic, as it was in the elections when I became president. When everyone said “clean elections”, I don't want to lose that," the President of Ukraine said.
In addition, there must be infrastructure to enable people who have gone abroad as refugees to cast their votes for candidates.
"We must make sure that there are no risks of bombing, of course there will be, but we must make sure that people at the polling stations are protected," the head of state emphasised.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again emphasised that Western partners should pay for such elections.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that elections in Ukraine under martial law are possible only if all citizens, including military personnel and internally displaced persons abroad, are able to vote.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, said during a visit to Kyiv that elections in Ukraine should be held in 2024, even if the war continues.