Ukraine presidential race goes to runoff, exit polls show: Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky faces runner-up incumbent Petro Poroshenko
By David L. Stern and Anton Troianovski Anton Troianovski Moscow bureau chief covering Russia Email Bio Follow March 31 at 1:30 PM KIEV, Ukraine — Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky came out ahead in the first round of the Ukrainian presidential election on Sunday, according to exit polls.
Zelensky’s strong showing reflected widespread disappointment over what many see as a lack of tangible change in the country after a pro-Western revolution five years ago. Zelensky has burrowed into a deep vein of voter discontent over a sluggish economy, corruption and an unresolved war in the country’s east with Russian forces and Kremlin-backed rebels. Five years after the revolution, Russia continues to occupy the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, and the United Nations estimates that the war in the east has taken some 13,000 lives.
Among Zelensky’s supporters, the series’ message resonates that honesty among politicians should trump all other considerations, and that he himself in real life is seen to be decent and corruption-free. His campaign has doubled down on patriotic themes, like promotion of the Ukrainian language over Russian, support of the military and the creation of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church. One of his early campaign slogans was “Either Poroshenko or Putin” — a not-so-subtle hint that an election victory for anyone else would mean a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“He has fled abroad, but he simultaneously moves two figures on the election chessboard,” Poroshenko said, referring to Kolomoisky, who currently lives in Israel.“God forbid that Tymoshenko or Zelensky is elected and gives us back to Russia,” said Svetlana Platonova, a 56-year-old corporate event organizer, who voted for Poroshenko on Sunday.
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