MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2019) Ukrainians are poised to cast their ballots in a presidential runoff on Sunday, with the hope for change in the conflict-stricken country expected to be at the heart of the reasoning at voting booths.
The first round of the Ukrainian presidential election was held on March 31 and resulted in none of the candidates gaining the absolute majority needed to win the race. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a newcomer to politics, led the race with 30.24 percent of the vote, while incumbent leader Petro Poroshenko came second with 15.95 percent.
'UNKNOWN PERSON CANNOT BE WORSE THAN THOSE WHO ACTUALLY LEAD THE COUNTRY'
Jaromir Kohlicek, a Czech member of the European Parliament's Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee, believes that people are likely to "vote for change" and, thus, support Zelenskiy.
According to Kohlicek, the fact that Poroshenko came second in the March 31 vote was quite a "surprise" for him. He also noted that it was unexpected to see Poroshenko emerge as a winner of the voting at foreign polling places amid overall low turnout there.
"[Provided that] no irregularities will occur, second round will have a clear winner. Voters will choose change," he told Sputnik.
The lawmaker noted that the rising political star of Zelenskiy, who created own party named after the highly-popular Servant of the People sitcom where he played an ordinary teacher turned Ukrainian president, could be also explained by the growing anti-establishment sentiment across the globe.
"It is similar to Italy, also [comedian] Beppe Grillo, [a co-founder the anti-establishment Five Star Movement party, which came to power in Italy in 2018] is a product of mistrust of voters to ruling political parties. This is why people prefer to vote for an unknown person instead of actual top politicians. It is a result of desperate reasoning. Unknown person cannot be worse than those who actually lead the country," Kohlicek said.
Nicolai Petro, a professor of international and comparative politics at the University of Rhode Island in the United States, agrees that Poroshenko "has almost no chance to win."
"More than two-thirds of voters associate Poroshenko with political stagnation, corruption, economic collapse, and conflict with Russia. As a result, his negative ratings are over 50%," Petro told Sputnik.
According to the expert, Zelenskiy has "no specific alternatives" either, "but he offers the hope of something new."
"As a result, his negative ratings are just 7%. People's minds are thus made up--they want a fresh start and a new approach. No debates at this late date are likely to change that," Petro said.
Asked to suggest how the April 21 election could affect the ongoing conflict in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, Petro noted that rhetoric of none of the candidates brought much hope for the conflict settlement.
"In the unlikely event that Poroshenko emerges victorious, there will be continued stalemate. Zelenskiy has offered no realistic alternatives, but he says he is open to dialogue. No meaningful political initiatives will be possible, however, until a new parliament is elected later this year," the expert said.
Reflecting on changes that Zelenskiy's possible victory might bring, Kohlicek first remarked about his reported links to oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi, who also owns the television channel that airs the sitcom starring the leader of the first round of the presidential race.
Kohlicek suggested that a new president should tackle social issues and poverty, bring about transparency in politics and tackle corruption and, thirdly, normalize relations with neighboring states as well as "turn back to the Minsk agreements" on the Donbas settlement.
"It will not be simple to move all these tasks," he concluded.
As for relations with Russia, which is blamed by Poroshenko for fomenting the war in east Ukraine but which has denied having any part in its neighbor's civil conflict, Zelenskiy appears to be more inclined and willing to improve the current dire situation.
"If Poroshenko is elected, we can be sure he will be the president who will continue having worst relations with Russia. If Zelenskiy is elected, he said he will at least recommence the negotiations. We need to find a diplomatic solution for Crimea, but it's peaceful here, life goes on normally. What is sad is people in Donbas, where the situation is catastrophic," Thierry Mariani, a candidate in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament and the head of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association, told Sputnik.
The issue of the Donbas settlement in election programs of presidential candidates has indeed been in the public focus throughout the campaign. Zelenskiy has stated that a dialogue with Russia is inevitable to find a solution to the protracted crisis in the country's eastern region, rejecting, however, direct talks with the self-proclaimed republics in Donbas. In a Thursday interview with the RBC Ukraine news agency, he also ruled out granting a special status to the region of Donbas as part of Ukraine, even though it is one of the provisions of the Minsk accords.
