Elections in Donbas are out of the question before the fighting stops and border control is restored, but there has to be debate on a relevant law, Artur Herasymov, the newly appointed representative of the Ukrainian president in the Verkhovna Rada, said.
“There will be no elections before the border is closed. The weapons have not been withdrawn, the troops have not been withdrawn, and there is shooting going on there. That is, we will not discuss that. But we can already speak about a law,” he told Interfax-Ukraine on May 30.
Herasymov also said there were over one million forced migrants in Ukraine, who were registered to live in territories not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. “They have a right to vote. And we should give that right to them,” he said.
He also said that Ukrainian parties and media should be provided access during elections in Donbas if they are conducted. At the same time, Herasymov could not say at what stage the work on the bill on elections in Donbas was now.
