Zelenskiy says he is open to elections if US ensures security

By Yuliia ‌Dysa and Dan Peleschuk

KYIV, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on ‍Tuesday he ‌was prepared to hold elections within three months if the U.S. and Kyiv's other ⁠allies could ensure the security of ‌the vote.

Wartime elections are forbidden by law but Zelenskiy, whose term expired last year, is facing renewed pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to hold a vote as he pushes Kyiv to ⁠secure peace quickly in the nearly four-year-old war with Russia.

"I'm ready for elections, and moreover I ask...that the ​U.S. help me, maybe together with European colleagues, to ‌ensure the security of an election," Zelenskiy ⁠said in comments to reporters.

"And then in the next 60-90 days Ukraine will be ready to hold an election."

Zelenskiy's remarks followed comments by Trump in an interview ​with Politico published on Tuesday suggesting Ukraine's government was using the war as an excuse to avoid elections.

"You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore," Trump said.

Zelenskiy dismissed suggestions that ​he was ‍clinging to power as "totally inadequate".

ENSURING ​A SAFE ELECTION

Ukraine, which is pushing back on a U.S.-backed peace plan seen as Moscow-friendly, is seeking strong security guarantees from its allies that would prevent a new Russian invasion.

Zelenskiy and other officials have routinely dismissed the idea of holding elections with frequent Russian air strikes across the country, nearly a million troops at the front and ⁠millions more Ukrainians displaced.

Also uncertain is the voting status of those Ukrainians living in the one-fifth of the country occupied by ​Russia, as well as those near the front line.

On Tuesday, he said he would ask parliament to prepare proposals for legislation that could allow for elections during martial law.

Polls have shown that Ukrainians are against holding wartime ‌elections but also want new faces in a political landscape largely unchanged since the last national elections in 2019.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman)