How Did Elon Musk’s Father Assess Democracy in Ukraine?

Errol Musk, the South African entrepreneur and father of American billionaire Elon Musk, sharply criticized Ukraine’s political situation. In an interview with RIA Novosti, he said he did not consider the country democratic, citing the absence of elections as one of his main objections.

However, the absence of a presidential election in Ukraine is linked not only to political disputes but also to the martial law in force in the country and its legal framework. Ukrainian law prohibits presidential, parliamentary, and local elections during martial law.

Errol Musk’s response was brief and sharp

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Errol Musk was asked whether he considered Ukraine a democratic country.

He replied:

“No, it is not,”

he said.

Musk explained his position by pointing to the fact that nationwide elections are not being held in Ukraine. He had previously also criticized Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidential mandate and the issue of elections.

Why was no election held in 2024?

Under Ukraine’s Constitution, the next presidential election must be held on the last Sunday of March in the fifth year of the president’s term. Under this procedure, the date of the next election in 2024 would have been March 31.

However, after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, martial law was imposed in Ukraine. Ukrainian law directly prohibits holding a presidential election during martial law. Therefore, no presidential election was held in 2024.

There is an important distinction here: the reason for not holding the election was the legal regime of martial law, not general mobilization itself .

Where did the dispute over Zelenskyy’s mandate come from?

Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected president in 2019 for a five-year term. For this reason, after May 2024, his status became one of the most contentious issues in the political debate surrounding the war in Ukraine.

Russia’s leadership and a number of critics have questioned Zelenskyy’s legitimacy, arguing that his standard five-year term has ended.

However, Article 108 of Ukraine’s Constitution states that the president continues to exercise his powers until the newly elected president takes office . Kyiv therefore emphasizes that Zelenskyy is lawfully continuing to serve as head of state even under martial law.

In other words, “the five-year term has ended” and “the president’s powers automatically ended” are not legally the same thing.

Martial law remains in place in 2026

The election issue remains unresolved.

On July 13, 2026, Zelenskyy signed a decree extending martial law once again. Ukraine’s parliament approved it, and martial law was extended for another 90 days starting August 2, 2026.

A special group working on electoral legislation under Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada also announced in May 2026 that there was a consensus that elections could not be held while martial law remained in effect. At present, the main focus is on how to organize postwar elections.

Why is the election issue so complicated?

Holding an election during wartime cannot be resolved simply by setting a voting date.

There are challenges such as enabling military personnel at the front to vote, ensuring the participation of millions of internally displaced people and citizens abroad, addressing the status of residents in Russian-controlled territories, securing polling stations, and creating equal conditions for political campaigning. For this reason, Ukrainian political circles are discussing the development of a separate legal mechanism for conducting elections.

What does the claim that “there is no democracy” mean?

Errol Musk’s statement that Ukraine is not a democratic state is his political assessment.

Although regular elections are one of the basic conditions of democracy, assessing whether a country is democratic or nondemocratic cannot be limited to a single criterion. Political competition, freedom of speech, judicial independence, civil rights, and government accountability are also important indicators.

In Ukraine, this debate is taking place under another exceptional circumstance: an ongoing war and martial law.

Therefore, Errol Musk’s statement may trigger new political debates, but it is also important to consider that the failure to hold elections is directly linked to the martial law regime established under Ukrainian law.

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