Instead of elections, which are impossible during wartime, Ukraine needs a new, effective model – the expansion of the National Security and Defence Council to include all political forces, with the exception of pro-Russian ones. This was stated by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum and Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2014 to 2016, during an address on ‘Apostrophe’.
Yatsenyuk emphasised that the NSDC is the only constitutional body capable of uniting everyone and ensuring effective decisions. “The simplest and most effective option is to involve all political forces, apart from the pro-Russian ones, in its work, so that they would share responsibility with the government for decision-making [...] And perhaps, if I were in the president’s position, I would also involve non-parliamentary forces to achieve a national consensus,” he noted.
According to the KSF Chairman, such a model would not only ensure shared responsibility but also greater efficiency in decision-making. At the same time, he described the alternative of holding elections as impossible and even dangerous. “Talk of elections is not even speculation; it is a major provocation, because it is impossible to hold them lawfully, democratically and transparently. Elections are not just a single day of voting; they are a process lasting three months beforehand and several more weeks afterwards,” explained Chairman of the KSF.
In conclusion, Yatsenyuk emphasised that his proposal is designed to strengthen democratic institutions without holding elections. “We need a national consensus among all political and even non-political forces,” he added.