Ukraine’s presidential race is in full swing, even though the official campaign period has not yet begun. At this point, incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko may make the second round; no candidate is expected to take 50 percent in the first round. If elections were held now, Tymoshenko would take 12.9 percent while Poroshenko polled second at 8.4 percent. Interestingly, Ukrainian comedian Volodymir Zelensky and rock star Svyatoslav Vakarchuk would receive 7.9 and 7.6 percent respectively, which points to society’s deep fatigue and distrust of the old faces.
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Mykola Vorobiov: How Ukraine’s presidential race is shaping up
From left, first row: President Petro Poroshenko, former defense minister Anatoliy Grytsenko, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Second row: lawmaker Oleh Lyashko, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy, lawmaker Yuriy Boiko, lawmaker Vadym Rabinovich, former Deputy Prime Minister Roman Bezsmertny. While they are the highest-ranked politicians in polls, it's a case of name recognition due to their longevity in politics rather than popular support. None of them polls higher than 20 percent and most poll only the single digits.
