'Zelensky Is a Dictator Who Cancelled Elections': The Martial Law Manipulation

What the Constitution says

Article 83 of the Constitution of Ukraine:

“In the event that the term of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expires during the state of war or state of emergency, its powers shall continue until the day of the first sitting of the first session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine elected after the lifting of the state of war or state of emergency.”

Article 108: the President’s powers continue until a new president is elected in elections, which can only take place after martial law is lifted.

This is not Zelensky’s decision — it is a constitutional norm adopted long before his presidency.

International practice

Country	Situation	Elections
Great Britain	Second World War	Parliamentary elections delayed for 10 years (1935–1945)
United States	Civil War	Several states did not hold elections
France	Second World War	Elections not held under occupation
Israel	Wars of 1948, 1967, 1973	Elections delayed

The ban on elections during martial law is standard democratic practice — not a sign of dictatorship.

Why elections are impossible during war

1. Millions of refugees — 6+ million Ukrainians abroad, millions internally displaced. How to ensure their vote?
2. Occupied territories — how to hold elections in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk regions and Crimea?
3. Security — polling stations would become targets for missile strikes
4. Mobilised soldiers — hundreds of thousands of voters are at the front
5. Resources — holding elections requires massive logistics that is needed for defence

According to a KIIS survey (2024): 63% of Ukrainians consider elections during wartime inappropriate.

Comparison with Russia

Russia, which accuses Zelensky of “dictatorship”:

• Putin has been in power since 2000 — 25 years
• “Reset” his terms through a constitutional amendment
• The main opposition leader Navalny — died in prison
• Boris Nadezhdin — was not allowed to run in the 2024 elections
• Result of the 2024 “elections”: 87.28% — as in North Korea
• OSCE did not recognise the elections as free

Zelensky is a president elected with 73% of the vote in the free elections of 2019, in which his opponent (the incumbent president Poroshenko) conceded defeat. Putin is a man who has not lost a single “election” in 25 years.

Conclusion

“Zelensky is a dictator” is a narrative promoted by Europe’s oldest dictatorship. A man who came to power through democratic elections and cannot hold new ones because Russia attacked his country is called a “dictator” — by a man who has been in power for 25 years and kills opposition figures.