The presidential elections in Ukraine are to take place on March 31, 2019. More than 10 people nominated their candidates for the high post. Among them are the incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and the former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whose chances are highly regarded by political scientists.
When will the presidential elections be held in Ukraine
Ukraine elects its president on the last Sunday of the first spring month. In 2019, elections will be held on March 31. According to the current rules, the president is considered elected in the first round if he gains more than 50% of the votes. If less than 50% of voters vote for the leader, a 2nd round must be organized.
It is obvious for political scientists that the upcoming elections will be held in 2 rounds. This opinion is based on preliminary opinion polls. Most likely, the second round of elections will take place at the end of April 2019.
Presidential candidates
Quite a lot of candidates will participate in the presidential race in 2019. Leading positions are occupied by:
- Poroshenko P. A.;
- Y. Timoshenko;
- Vakarchuk S. I.;
- Boyko Y. A.;
- Gritsenko A. S.;
- Zelensky V. A.;
- Lyashko O. V.;
- Sadovy A. I.
Petro Alekseevich Poroshenko is the current president of Ukraine. He has been in big politics since 1998. Poroshenko is one of the founders of the Party of Regions. Under Yushchenko and Yanukovych, he held high positions. In 2014, this influential businessman won the presidential election and took over the country. After coming to power, Poroshenko promised to smooth out the Donetsk conflict, but did not fulfill his promise. Other hopes of many voters did not come true either. For these reasons, the rating of Petr Alekseevich is rapidly falling before the upcoming elections.
Yulia Tymoshenko has been Poroshenko's main political rival since 2005. She is the leader of the Batkivshchyna party. In 2004, she led the Orange Revolution with Yushchenko. After Yushchenko's victory in the elections, Tymoshenko took over as prime minister. In 2010, she ran for the presidency of the country, but lost. After Yanukovych came to power, Yulia Vladimirovna was convicted. All charges were dropped against her only in 2014. Tymoshenko has returned to the political arena and promises voters to radically change the current system of government and reduce gas prices for the population.
Zelensky Vladimir Alexandrovich is a showman, founder of the program "Evening Quarter", the hosts and guests of which make fun of the current government and the opposition quite sharply. This candidate is considered the most controversial. Some political scientists call him a dark horse. According to the data of social polls, about 10% of voters are already ready to vote for Zelensky and his virtual party Servant of the People.
Anatoly Gritsenko is the leader of the Civil Opposition party. He served as the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. For Gritsenko, the upcoming elections will be the third. Anatoly Stepanovich ran in 2010 and 2014, but lost to rivals.
Lyashko Oleg Valerievich - leader of the "Radical Party". He is one of the political opponents of Yulia Tymoshenko. Lyashko has earned a reputation as a truth-teller and enjoys the support of the population.
Sadovy Andrey Ivanovich - leader of the Samopomich party. He holds the post of mayor of the city of Lviv.
Vakarchuk Svyatoslav Ivanovich is a popular Ukrainian rock musician. His ratings are quite high, but they do not reach those who occupy leading positions. Yuri Anatolyevich Boyko has a higher chance of taking the presidency. In politics, for a long time and for many years in a row, he held the post of Minister of Fuel and Energy. Several other candidates announced their intention to run in the elections, but have not yet registered with the CEC of Ukraine.
Predictions of political scientists
Predicting the outcome of the upcoming elections is a difficult and almost impossible task. Several opinion polls were conducted. According to their results, the leader is Yulia Tymoshenko. But these intermediate data do not guarantee her victory in the elections. In none of the polls did her rating rise above 12%. This means that her position is extremely precarious.
One of the features of the 2019 elections is the large number of candidates. It is obvious to many that only a few contenders have a real chance of winning. The rest of the participants in the pre-election race will take on some of the votes, which will create additional difficulties. According to the forecasts of political scientists, Petro Poroshenko should meet in the second round with Yulia Tymoshenko, Anatoly Gritsenko, Yuri Boyko, Vladimir Zelensky, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk. The result of the second round may not be predictable.
