The show is finally on.
Preparations have started for a presidential debate between President Petro Poroshenko and his challenger, comedic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to be held on April 19 at the Olimpiysky Stadium in Kyiv.
However, the two camps can’t agree on the format of the debate.
Zelenskiy’s campaign claimed that Poroshenko’s campaign wants to install two stages for the two candidates and divide the viewing area into two fan zones.
“Where in the world have you seen a debate between two candidates on two stages?” Zelenskiy said in a video posted on social media late on April 17. “They (Poroshenko campaign) want to divide people into their supporters and ours. They again divide the people.”
The official spokesman for Poroshenko’s campaign, Oleg Medvedev, said the debate has to be a multiple hour discussion, not a show. And the format should be in line with the law, he said.
According to the law, the presidential debate has to take place two days before Election Day in the television studio of the national broadcaster, Suspilne. Poroshenko, who accepted Zelenskiy’s challenge to a debate at 7 p.m. at the Olympic Stadium, has insisted on continuing the televised debate on Suspilne at 8 p.m.
In response, Zelenskiy suggested holding the debate via video link where he would be at the stadium, and Poroshenko – at Suspilne.
A spokesman for Zelenskiy’s campaign, Dmytro Razumkov, said the cost of renting the stadium will be split between the two candidates’ election funds, and is estimated at Hr 6-8 million ($225,000 to $300,000) in total.
An estimated 60,000 people are expected to come to the stadium, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on April 17. Some 10,000 police officers will also be there to maintain order.
Despite the disagreements on the form of the debate, the two rival campaigns have already begun mobilizing their supporters for April 19.
Zelenskiy launched a website https://debaty2019.org.ua/ where anyone can get free tickets to the stadium. His campaign reported that over 12,000 tickets had been booked in the first half an hour.
Although the debate is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., the website says there will also be a concert, starting at 5 p.m.
At the same time, Poroshenko’s campaign called for people from all over Ukraine to come to the capital.
“Come to Kyiv and bring friends to the debate. Be a witness to a historic event,” reads the description of a Facebook event posted by the Poroshenko campaign. Prospective attendees have to fill out a registration form indicating whether they need transportation to Kyiv. Registered participants will be provided with Poroshenko campaign flags and paraphernalia.
No press conference
Zelenskiy, a popular comedic actor with no previous political experience, won the first round of the vote on March 31 with 30.24 percent, while Poroshenko received 15.95 percent.
Ahead of the second round, Zelenskiy has built up a huge lead over Poroshenko: In the latest survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, Zelenskiy polls at 72.2 percent, while Poroshenko is at just 25.4 percent.
The two candidates agreed to hold a debate on April 19 at the largest arena in Kyiv and took drug tests, haggling over the conditions through videos and representatives.
In the past two weeks, President Poroshenko has toured the leading Ukrainian television channels and repeatedly invited Zelenskiy to debate him before April 19. Zelenskiy ignored the invitations and sent advisers to speak on television on his behalf.
The closest Poroshenko and Zelenskiy got to an actual conversation with one another was their brief and rancorous telephone call televised on April 12, when the president turned up unannounced at a late-night political talk show on 1+1 channel.
On April 14, Poroshenko booked the Olympic stadium for a debate with Zelenskiy, who as predicted didn’t show up. In his absence, the event turned into a Poroshenko press conference and campaign rally.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy has largely avoided the media. He has given no interviews since his win on March 31, except for an interview with Ukraina TV channel on April 7 and a spontaneous interview with Novyny Ukrainy after his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on April 13.
Seeing the reluctance of the frontrunner to communicate with journalists, 21 Ukrainian media outlets and media organizations called on Zelenskiy to hold a press conference before April 18.
“The media community and civil society have a number of questions regarding your vision of the country’s development and your willingness to be accountable to the people who elect you,” reads the statement from April 16 signed by Novoye Vremya, Internews, Liga.net, Hromadske, Ukrainian Week, UA: Pershyi, Detector Media, Ukrinform, and others.
“Our readers, listeners, and viewers are also asking these questions, to which we have no answers because we haven’t talked to you directly – not a single time.”
Zelenskiy’s political consultant Razumkov responded that there would not be a Zelenskiy press conference because there was not enough time for it before the debate.
