The east-west electoral divide in Ukraine is deep and perennial, a popular saying goes. However, an analysis conducted by the website Texty.org.ua challenges this conventional wisdom. At the level of districts, how Ukrainians vote is often explained not by linguistic, ethnic, socio-economic variables but by local political elites striking a deal with larger political forces.
TEXTY: Ukraine’s east-west electoral divide is a myth
(Archive photo) Women look at their ballots at a polling station in Mariupol, in the Donetsk region, on Nov. 29, 2015.
