Is it true that after May 20, 2024, Volodymyr Zelensky lost his legitimacy as president of Ukraine?

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, and other Russian officials have repeatedly stated that on May 20, 2024, along with the presidential term of the head of Ukraine, his legitimacy expired. 

The validity of this statement was analyzed by Mark Beygelzimer, PhD, systems analyst, Trust but Verify project manager.

 
Facts

1. The term of election of the President of Ukraine is determined by Article 103 of the Constitution of Ukraine [1]:

2. The term of powers (not the same as the term of election!) of the President of Ukraine is established in accordance with the principle of continuity of power, which is regulated by Article 108 of the Constitution of Ukraine [1]:

3. The actual term of powers of the President of Ukraine may not be equal to the term of his election for the following reasons:

a) In the conditions of a particular election campaign, the date of inauguration of the newly elected President of Ukraine may be set not exactly five years after the inauguration of his predecessor, but somewhat earlier or later. For example, Viktor Yushchenko was President of Ukraine from January 23, 2005 to February 25, 2010, i.e. his actual term of office exceeded the term of election by 34 days.

b) The powers of the President of Ukraine are terminated ahead of schedule in cases stipulated by Article 108 of the Constitution of Ukraine [1] (resignation, inability to fulfill his powers for health reasons, removal from office by impeachment, death).

c) The powers of the President of Ukraine are extended for the period of martial law in accordance with Articles 11 and 19 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" [2]:

4. Due to the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, martial law was introduced in Ukraine by Presidential Decree No. 64/2022 of February 24, 2022 [3].

Thus, according to our analysis, Volodymyr Zelensky remains the legitimate President of Ukraine after May 20, 2024, because under martial law the election of the President of Ukraine is prohibited (under the Law "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law"), and the powers of the President of Ukraine should continue until the newly elected President of Ukraine takes office (under the Constitution of Ukraine and the Law "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law").

This conclusion is inconsistent with the assertions of Vladimir Putin and a number of other public figures of the Russian Federation.

In order to understand who is right and where the error lies, let us analyze separately each of the arguments used by supporters of the version of Vladimir Zelensky's "illegitimacy" as President of Ukraine.

Argument 1 (Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 14, 2024, journalist Valentin Loginov in Izvestia online resource of May 20, 2024): "On the night of May 21, 2024, the five-year term of powers of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as defined by the country's Constitution, expired."

This argument is false because it substitutes the concepts of "term of election" and "term of powers". The term of powers does not automatically expire at the end of the term for which the President was elected. According to the principle of continuity of power, the President of Ukraine continues to exercise his powers until the day when a newly elected President takes office (which is stipulated in Article 108 of the Constitution of Ukraine - see above).

Argument 2 (Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 14, 2024, Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the Russian State Duma, in his Telegram channel on May 29, 2024): "The only legitimate power of Ukraine after May 20, 2024 remains the Parliament and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada in accordance with Article 112 of the Constitution of Ukraine."

Let's open the Constitution [1]:

Thus, argument 2 is also false, since Article 112 of the Constitution of Ukraine, on which this argument relies, refers to the situation of the pre-term termination of the powers of the President of Ukraine, which has no relevance to the case at hand.

Argument 3 (Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 14, 2024, Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the Russian State Duma, in his Telegram channel on May 29, 2024, journalist Valentin Loginov in Izvestia online resource of May 20, 2024): "Cancellation of presidential elections during martial law in the country contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine." 

This is not true. The Constitution of Ukraine [1] indeed does not regulate the prohibition to hold presidential elections during martial law. But it also does not regulate the reverse norm, i.e. the Constitution of Ukraine does not require holding presidential elections during martial law. In other words, the Constitution of Ukraine does not consider such a legal norm as holding or not holding presidential elections during martial law at all. In such a situation, the prohibition on holding presidential elections in the Law "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" has the highest legal force [2] (Article 19 of this Law is quoted above).

Аргумент 4. (Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 14, 2024, Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the Russian State Duma, in his Telegram channel on May 29, 2024): "Ukrainian legislation does not provide for the possibility of prolonging the powers of the President of Ukraine." 

This is not true. The prolongation of the powers of the President of Ukraine is expressly provided for in Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" [2] (this article is quoted above).

Verdict

The claim that President Zelensky is illegitimate after May 20, 2024 is not true. In fact, Vladimir Zelensky remains the legitimate President of Ukraine after May 20, 2024, because under martial law the election of the President of Ukraine is prohibited, and the powers of the President of Ukraine continue until the newly elected President of Ukraine takes office after the lifting of martial law. The arguments of V. Putin and other supporters of V. Zelensky's version of "illegitimacy" are based on a direct distortion and false interpretation of the laws of Ukraine.

Sources of information

1. Constitution of Ukraine. Law of 28.06.1996 No. 254k/96-VR (in English - here).

2. Law of Ukraine dd. 12.05.2015 No. 389-VIII "On the legal regime of martial law" [in Ukrainian]. The English translation of the quoted articles was done by AI translator and is not a valid legal document, no warranties, no claims.

3. Decree of the President of Ukraine "On the introduction of martial law in Ukraine" No. 64/2022 of February 24, 2022 [in Ukrainian].

Cover photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

Dear reader! We invite you to share your opinion about this article and the Trust but Verify project in general through available communication channels. We will take your opinion into account when selecting content and verifying information. If your arguments are convincing, we are ready to make adjustments in evaluating statements, facts and conclusions.