Multi-millionaire and leader of the Osnova political party Serhiy Taruta will back Yulia Tymoshenko, head of the Batkivshchyna party, in the March 31 presidential elections, the two politicians announced at a joint press conference in Kyiv on March 16.
Taruta, who is also a candidate for the presidency, said the parties would unite efforts on the basis of their shared economic strategies.
“We have united, and we, the Osnova party, will do everything so that Yulia Volodymyrivna (Tymoshenko) wins,” Taruta said, with Tymoshenko standing by his side.
“This is not the time for (personal) ambition, but a time to build our country, because this is the main thing we value,” he added.
Taruta will still be on the ballot with 38 other candidates and won’t be reimbursed the registration fee of Hr 2.5 million ($92,000), because he missed the March 7 deadline for withdrawing his candidacy.
Tymoshenko thanked Taruta and his team for their initiative to unite. She did not disclose whether Taruta had been promised the position of prime minister if she wins, as has been speculated in some media.
“I think we will speak about all the options for the first steps and staff appointments only after victory,” Tymoshenko said at the press conference.
There have been rumors for some time that Taruta would endorse Tymoshenko. On March 14, journalist Denis Kazansky reported that Taruta and Tymoshenko had reached agreement. Kazansky said that Taruta had decided not to withdraw from elections officially so as to ensure his election observers can monitor the conduct of the elections.
“Obviously, he decided not to withdraw from the elections in order to retain his people in the commissions,” Kazansky wrote in his Telegram channel.
“Now they (Taruta and Tymoshenko) are preparing a massive advertising campaign in support of Tymoshenko: ‘A vote for Tymoshenko is a vote for peace,’” Kazansky said.
Taruta, an independent lawmaker and one of the leaders of the Osnova political party, is also a millionaire whose net worth Forbes Ukraine estimates at $112.44 million. He owns a 24.9 percent stake in the steel holding Industrial Union of Donbas.
However, Taruta used to be a billionaire before some of the factories that he owned were seized by Russian-backed separatists. In 2008, Forbes Ukraine estimated Taruta’s net worth to be $2.65 billion.
Taruta served as the governor of his native Donetsk Oblast for six months in 2014, when Russia started its war against Ukraine in the region.
In the two latest polls by Rating and Socis sociological companies published on March 11 and March 13 respectively, Taruta was in 12th and 16th place, with 0.7 or 0.3 percent support among those who said they would vote and who have made up their minds who to vote for.
IF his supporters heed his advice, these percentage points may be added to Tymoshenko’s ratings, who is second with 18.3 percent in the Rating poll or third with 14.8 percent in the Socis poll.
Actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy leads in both polls with 24.7 or 27.7 percent support, and incumbent President Petro Poroshenko trail third with 16.8 percent (Rating) or second with 19.6 percent support (Socis).
Five candidates had already dropped out of the race by endorsing other candidates and officially withdrawing their bids by March 7. The Central Election Commission in the end registered 39 candidates for the presidency, including Taruta.
