Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that no local elections can be held in the areas not controlled by Kyiv unless they provide "all the conditions necessary for an honest and transparent expression of will by citizens."
“We cannot hold [the Oct. 25 local elections) ]n the occupied territories,” he told Ukrainian television channels on Sept. 13.
It is not the holding of elections but how they will be held that is key, the president said.
The elections must be free and honest and can only be held if the required standards are met, he stressed. “If we cannot protect the work by the Ukrainian media, the work by Ukrainian parties, ensure public safety and safe voting, it means it will be in the parliament’s hands to declare – as soon as the opportunity arises – the elections in the areas where they cannot be held yet,” Poroshenko said.
