ISTANBUL

Elon Musk, the American business magnate and head of the Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump Administration, has reiterated his call for Ukraine to hold elections, which he believes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would lose.

“Ukraine needs to hold an election. Zelenskyy would lose by a landslide,” the billionaire and close adviser to US President Donald Trump posted on X on Thursday.

Musk’s comment came in response to a post stating that Trump's team had met with Ukrainian opposition leaders to discuss holding emergency elections to replace Zelenskyy.

According to Politico, four members of Trump’s inner circle held secret talks in Kyiv with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and a member of former President Petro Poroshenko's party.

The meetings took place as Washington aligned with Moscow in an attempt to oust Zelenskyy, Politico reported.

In response to these reports, Poroshenko posted on X that he and his US partners work "publicly and transparently to maintain bipartisan support for Ukraine,” emphasizing that the discussions have always been based on “security first and peace through strength.”

No elections under martial law

Last month, Trump questioned Zelenskyy’s legitimacy, claiming he had only 4% public support and calling him a “dictator without elections.”

Musk also previously suggested that if Zelenskyy was loved by the people of Ukraine, he would hold an election.

The billionaire claimed the Ukrainian president is “despised” by his people.

Zelenskyy's presidential term ended in May 2024.

However, under Ukrainian law, elections cannot be held under martial law, which was declared following the Russian invasion in 2022.

On February 25, Ukraine’s parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution affirming the legitimacy and constitutionality of Zelenskyy’s continued leadership during wartime.

The resolution elections will be held once peace is restored.

Opposition politicians Tymoshenko, Poroshenko, and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko have publicly opposed elections before the war ends.

But a Republican expert told Politico that “Poroshenko’s people and Yulia, they’re all talking to Trump World,” positioning themselves as easier partners who “would consent to many of the things that Zelenskyy is not agreeing to.”