KIEV: A comedian whose political enjoy is limited to playing the President in a TV show is likely to best the first round of voting when Ukrainians move to the polls on Sunday.
Actor Volodymyr Zelensky's bid started as a protracted shot however he has leapfrogged established politicians amid public frustration over corruption and stagnating dwelling requirements.
The 41-year-old megastar of political comedy "Servant of the People," which returns for its third season this week, is polling at round 28 in step with cent, smartly ahead of his nearest competitors.
The major suspense ahead of the weekend vote is who of incumbent Petro Poroshenko and ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko will development to the run-off, as a number of polls put them neck and neck with round 16 in step with cent.
Zelensky, who has a young reinforce base, confesses he has "no experience" however insists he has the energy to guide Ukraine - a rustic of 45 million locked in a separatist battle.
"I don't have all the knowledge but I'm learning this now," he told AFP in an interview this month.
"I don't want to look like an idiot."
Critics point to the vagueness of his manifesto, the key pledges of that have been chosen following a public vote on social media.
But supporters say handiest a brand spanking new face can clean up Ukraine's murky politics.
Some accuse him of appearing as a front for the pursuits of oligarch Igor Kolomoysky, who owns the channel that broadcasts the entertainer's presentations, despite the fact that Zelensky denies any political links.
Poroshenko was elected President in 2014 after a well-liked rebellion compelled his Kremlin-backed predecessor Viktor Yanukovych from office earlier that 12 months.
The pro-Western rebellion was adopted by Russia's annexation of Crimea and a battle within the east of Ukraine between Kiev's forces and Moscow-backed separatists. Poroshenko got here in on guarantees to take on graft, align Ukraine with the West and shut down the fighting within the east.
He has brought in a raft of reforms to boost the economy and combat corruption, despite the fact that they've yet to supply noticeable adjustments in dwelling requirements.
Meanwhile the simmering separatist battle has value some 13,000 lives.
He has alternatively come thru on a well-liked pledge to create an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, free from the 300-year-old influence of the Moscow Patriarchate.
"My ally is the Ukrainian people... my opponent is Putin," Poroshenko stated of the Russian President right through a televised appearance ahead of the first-round vote.
The 53-year-old chief has located himself as the one user able to rise up to the Kremlin and has promised to go back Crimea to Ukraine if he's re-elected.
The pledge has been widely pushed aside as unrealistic.
Tymoshenko - who was once recognized for her conventional plaited hairstyle however has lately opted for a extra conventional pony tail - has involved in the price of dwelling.
She has promised to cut consumer gas prices to half and spice up pensions as she appeals to an older base right through her third tilt on the presidency.
With a file 39 applicants on the ballot paper for the first round, analysts say the race remains open regardless of Zelensky's dominance within the polls.
"If you look at his figures, you get the feeling that (Zelensky) has already reached his electoral peak," stated political analyst Mykola Davydyuk.
His younger supporters also are much less likely to turn out on polling day, he added.
"The question isn't so much 'can he win?' as 'can he be President?'," Davydyuk told AFP.
"It's a big challenge for a country to have such a President." Barring a surprise consequence in which one candidate crosses the 50 in step with cent threshold within the first round, a two-person run-off will be held on April 21.
Actor Volodymyr Zelensky's bid started as a protracted shot however he has leapfrogged established politicians amid public frustration over corruption and stagnating dwelling requirements.
The 41-year-old megastar of political comedy "Servant of the People," which returns for its third season this week, is polling at round 28 in step with cent, smartly ahead of his nearest competitors.
The major suspense ahead of the weekend vote is who of incumbent Petro Poroshenko and ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko will development to the run-off, as a number of polls put them neck and neck with round 16 in step with cent.
Zelensky, who has a young reinforce base, confesses he has "no experience" however insists he has the energy to guide Ukraine - a rustic of 45 million locked in a separatist battle.
"I don't have all the knowledge but I'm learning this now," he told AFP in an interview this month.
"I don't want to look like an idiot."
Critics point to the vagueness of his manifesto, the key pledges of that have been chosen following a public vote on social media.
But supporters say handiest a brand spanking new face can clean up Ukraine's murky politics.
Some accuse him of appearing as a front for the pursuits of oligarch Igor Kolomoysky, who owns the channel that broadcasts the entertainer's presentations, despite the fact that Zelensky denies any political links.
Poroshenko was elected President in 2014 after a well-liked rebellion compelled his Kremlin-backed predecessor Viktor Yanukovych from office earlier that 12 months.
The pro-Western rebellion was adopted by Russia's annexation of Crimea and a battle within the east of Ukraine between Kiev's forces and Moscow-backed separatists. Poroshenko got here in on guarantees to take on graft, align Ukraine with the West and shut down the fighting within the east.
He has brought in a raft of reforms to boost the economy and combat corruption, despite the fact that they've yet to supply noticeable adjustments in dwelling requirements.
Meanwhile the simmering separatist battle has value some 13,000 lives.
He has alternatively come thru on a well-liked pledge to create an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, free from the 300-year-old influence of the Moscow Patriarchate.
"My ally is the Ukrainian people... my opponent is Putin," Poroshenko stated of the Russian President right through a televised appearance ahead of the first-round vote.
The 53-year-old chief has located himself as the one user able to rise up to the Kremlin and has promised to go back Crimea to Ukraine if he's re-elected.
The pledge has been widely pushed aside as unrealistic.
Tymoshenko - who was once recognized for her conventional plaited hairstyle however has lately opted for a extra conventional pony tail - has involved in the price of dwelling.
She has promised to cut consumer gas prices to half and spice up pensions as she appeals to an older base right through her third tilt on the presidency.
With a file 39 applicants on the ballot paper for the first round, analysts say the race remains open regardless of Zelensky's dominance within the polls.
"If you look at his figures, you get the feeling that (Zelensky) has already reached his electoral peak," stated political analyst Mykola Davydyuk.
His younger supporters also are much less likely to turn out on polling day, he added.
"The question isn't so much 'can he win?' as 'can he be President?'," Davydyuk told AFP.
"It's a big challenge for a country to have such a President." Barring a surprise consequence in which one candidate crosses the 50 in step with cent threshold within the first round, a two-person run-off will be held on April 21.
Comedian ahead as Ukraine presidential campaign enters final days
![Comedian ahead as Ukraine presidential campaign enters final days]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
March 28, 2019
Rating:
