On Oct. 13, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he wants to “ask Ukrainians five questions” on Oct. 25, Election Day, when the nation elects local officials.
Those following Ukrainian politics weren’t surprised: Rumors that the administration would try to hold a mock referendum to give people more incentive to show up for local elections circulated for months.
But it doesn’t mean the announcement was accepted well.
International organizations and election monitors told the Kyiv Post in private conversations earlier that they didn’t approve of the idea because it could influence the people’s choice on Election Day and taint the fairness of the elections.
Many questions are in the air about the event. The administration already said, after initial confusion, that it would not be a referendum, it would have no legal force, and it would not be paid for by the state. But who will pay for staging this opinion poll at every one of the thousands of polling stations in Ukraine?
Then, there are five questions. Should Ukraine introduce a life sentence for large-scale corruption? Should the Donbas become a free economic zone? Should Ukraine have 300 lawmakers instead of 450? Should Ukraine legalize medical marijuana?
The fifth question is the strange one: “Do you support Ukraine’s right to enforce the security assurances of the Budapest Memorandum to renew its state sovereignty and territorial integrity?”
It can be interpreted as Ukraine sending a message to the U.S. and U.K., the two countries that provided security assurances to Ukraine in return for giving up its nuclear weapons in 1994, to go harder on Russia for invading Ukraine.
Politically, the move has already won Zelensky some points. Thanks to the announcement and the idea to not reveal all the questions at once — which almost worked, until someone leaked them to the press two days later — Zelensky dominated the news all week. It has likely boosted people’s interest in the elections and may increase the turnout.
But while Zelensky is the winner in the situation, it appears that Ukrainians are the losers.
The proposed questions for the poll demonstrate an attempt at manipulation and lack of consideration for the people’s interests.
The first question demonstrates it best. Asking whether large-scale corruption should be punished by a life sentence sounds almost like mockery.
In 1.5 years of Zelensky’s presidency, he has failed to demonstrate the political will to go after the big shots, except for his predecessor Petro Poroshenko. And now, asking about a life sentence? How about any sentence, for starters.
If anyone should be asking five questions, it should be the people of Ukraine asking Zelensky. Here are some of the possible questions:
Why are the oligarchs feeling so comfortable with you as the president? Will any top officials be prosecuted for corruption on your watch? Will your prosecutor general stop obstructing investigations against members of your party? Will you ever fire Interior Minister Arsen Avakov? Why did you use the money from the COVID‑19 fund to repair roads when the health care system is crashing?
