Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3004038/ukrainians-vote-presidential-election-amid-tight-security
World/ Europe

Ukraine election: comedian Volodymyr Zelensky favourite to beat billionaire President Poroshenko in April 21 run-off

  • The strong showing for the comedian with no political experience reflects the public longing for a fresh leader who has no links to the corruption-ridden Ukrainian political elite
  • A run-off between the top two candidates in the race will take place on April 21

A comic actor with no political experience was leading strongly in Ukraine’s presidential election and will be in a run-off for the job in three weeks, according to results released on Monday.

With nearly 84 per cent of the polling stations counted, Volodymyr Zelenskiy had 30 per cent support in Sunday’s vote, while President Petro Poroshenko was a distant second with about 16 per cent of the vote.

Ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko trailed behind with 13 per cent. The results were in sync with a top exit poll.

The strong showing for the 41-year-old Zelenskiy reflects the public longing for a fresh leader who has no links to the corruption-ridden Ukrainian political elite and can offer a new approach to settling the grinding five-year conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

“This is only the first step toward a great victory,” Zelenskiy said after seeing the exit poll findings.

The top two candidates advance to a run-off on April 21. Final results in Sunday’s first round are expected to be announced later Monday.

Zelenskiy dismissed suggestions that he could pool forces with Tymoshenko to get the backing of her voters in the second round in exchange for forming a coalition following parliamentary elections in the fall.

“We aren’t making any deals with anyone,” he said. “We are young people. We don’t want to see all the past in our future, the future of our country.”

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Photo: EPA-EFE
Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Photo: EPA-EFE

Like the character he plays in a TV sitcom, a schoolteacher-turned-president, Zelenskiy made fighting corruption a focus of his candidacy. He proposed a lifetime ban on holding public office for anyone convicted of corruption. He also called for direct negotiations with Russia on ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Voters on Monday were ready for the presidential runoff.

“Poroshenko is taking the country forward,” said Serhiy Poltorachenko, a bank employee. “He made mistakes, but promised to correct them.”

Petro Demidchenko, a 38-year-old office worker, was supporting the actor.

“We don’t know what to expect from Zelenskiy, but over the past five years we have found out what to expect from Poroshenko – corruption, soaring prices, continuing war and poverty,” he said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and his wife Olena cast their ballots at a polling station in Kiev, Ukraine. Photo: Reuters
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and his wife Olena cast their ballots at a polling station in Kiev, Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

The election was marred by allegations of widespread vote buying. Police said they had received more than 2,100 complaints of violations on voting day alone in addition to hundreds of earlier voting fraud claims, including bribery attempts and removing ballots from polling places.

Zelenskiy’s headquarters alleged multiple voting and other cheating on the part of Poroshenko’s campaign, but election officials said the vote took place without significant violations.

Poroshenko looked sombre as the votes came in, but visibly relieved about surpassing Tymoshenko to advance to the run-off.

“I critically and soberly understand the signal that society gave today to the acting authorities,” he said. “It’s a tough lesson for me and my team. It’s a reason for serious work to correct mistakes made over the past years.”

Ukraine's President and presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko. Photo: Reuters
Ukraine's President and presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko. Photo: Reuters

It is not clear whether he would or could adjust his campaign enough to meet Zelenskiy’s challenges over the next three weeks.

Poroshenko, 53, a confectionery tycoon before he was elected five years ago, saw approval of his governing sink amid Ukraine’s economic woes and a sharp plunge in living standards. Poroshenko campaigned on promises to defeat the rebels in the east and to wrest back control of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 in a move that has drawn sanctions against Russia from the US and the European Union.

A military embezzlement scheme that allegedly involved top Poroshenko associates as well as a factory controlled by the president dogged Poroshenko before this election. Ultra-right activists shadowed him throughout the campaign, demanding the jailing of the president’s associates accused in the scandal.

Poroshenko after the vote hit back at Zelenskiy, describing him as a pawn of self-exiled billionaire businessman Igor Kolomoyskyi, charges that Zelenskiy denies.

“Fate pitted me against Kolomoyskyi’s puppet in the run-off,” he said. “We won’t leave a single chance for Kolomoyskyi.”

Zelenskiy quickly shot back, saying mockingly that it’s impossible to say whether a corrupt official involved in the military embezzlement scheme was Poroshenko’s puppet, or the other way round.