The current President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko led the anti-rating of candidates for the presidency two weeks before the election. This information was published by the research group "Rating".

Under any circumstances, on March 31, almost half of the voters polled did not vote for Poroshenko. About 30% of Ukrainians are not ready to give a vote for the leader of the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko. 19% of respondents will not vote for Yuriy Boyko.

Sociologists of "Rating" called the showman Vladimir Zelensky, who is ready to support 24% of voters, the leader of the presidential race. The second position is occupied by Yulia Tymoshenko (18%), the third - Petro Poroshenko (17%).

  • Campaign poster of Ukrainian presidential candidate Vladimir Zelensky on a street in Kiev
  • RIA News

On the eve another study was published, which also gave Zelensky a leading position with an even larger margin. According to the organization Advanced Law Initiatives, in the March 31 elections, more than 34% of Ukrainians are ready to vote for Zelensky.

“The obtained data on voter support show a further increase in the rating of Vladimir Zelensky, who has certain chances of reaching the second round of presidential elections,” the study authors say.

Zelensky leads the majority of the regions of Ukraine considered by the organization. The greatest number of supporters of this candidate was recorded in the Dnipropetrovsk region - almost 46%. Followed by Sumy (42%), as well as Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions (about 40% each). Petro Poroshenko leads only in the Lviv region with a result of 33%.

Competitors are lagging behind

According to the study of "Advanced Legal Initiatives", the closest competitors of Zelensky are the current president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, and the leader of the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko, who are losing ground.

"His (Zelensky. - RT ) competitors will be candidates from the top three pursuit of the leader - Petro Poroshenko, whose rating has decreased by almost one percent since the previous poll, Yulia Tymoshenko, who significantly lost the positions gained at the beginning of the electoral race," the survey authors say .

About 14% of Ukrainians are ready to vote for Poroshenko, a little more than 12% - for Tymoshenko. It should be noted that the studies of the beginning of 2019 called Tymoshenko the leader of the pre-election race, and the gap from the closest competitors was significant. Then sociologists considered that about 20% of voters are ready to support the leader of “Batkivshchyna”, whereas Zelensky was the closest competitor of Tymoshenko with a result of 12%.

If Zelensky and Poroshenko would go to the second round of elections, Ukrainians would vote by a margin of 73% in favor of the first candidate, the study says. Comparable results - 72% - were noted when considering the scenario in which Zelensky and Tymoshenko met in the second round.

Ruslan Bortnik, director of the Ukrainian Institute for Policy Analysis and Management, said in an interview with RT that one-day Ukrainian firms publish data from sociological surveys, including for the purpose of propaganda. However, according to firms that have been operating for 10 years or more, Zelensky is the leader.

  • Zelensky on the set of the series “Servant of the People”
  • Reuters
  • © Valentyn Ogirenko

“Even according to their data, Zelensky is the first, he plays on the field of anti-rating of classical politicians. The anti-electorate chooses Zelensky, who is positioning himself as an anti-system candidate who will come and carry out updates, ”Bortnik said.

He added that a protest vote and a request for new elites give Zelensky a high result, but the showman’s team still has a lot of work to do.

"For me, there is nothing surprising, but his team faces a difficult task, how to get this electorate out of the house and bring him to the polling station," the expert concluded.

In the party “Popular Front” they note that Zelensky is supported by those who are disillusioned with the “old guard”.

“The population is disappointed with the events of“ Maidan ”, because of the real achievements of the authorities can only be called the introduction of a visa-free regime with the EU countries. But the pay was too high - from military operations in the east of the country to a decline in living standards and a high level of corruption, ”the source said.

According to him, Zelensky personifies new hopes for change.

“People do not care about his lack of experience, team, knowledge of the basics of diplomacy and support of the oligarch Igor Kolomoisky,” the People’s Front said.

“He has no radical views”

Most of the other candidates for the presidency of Ukraine have discredited themselves with previous activities, says Yury Pochta, professor at the Department of Comparative Political Science at RUDN University. According to him, the main participants lose votes that go to Zelensky. However, a number of voters have not yet decided.

“Zelensky’s victory is not yet obvious. In addition, there may be some stuffing. There are always some cards that are laid out on the table. We will hear a lot more about Zelensky, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

He suggested that Zelensky’s popularity can still be explained by the non-radical views of the candidate - in his statements there is no militancy demonstrated by other candidates.

“He does not have any radical views that would frighten the population. He has no program, but his self-restraint is less frightening the voters than Poroshenko’s and Timoshenko’s bellicose statements. There were situations in the history of different countries when people from art and show business came to power, ”noted the Post.

According to the expert, voters are aware of the fact that not much depends on the leaders of Ukraine.

"Ukraine is sitting on the IMF's credit needle, and the task of the new president is not to worsen the situation, but the attitude towards Poroshenko and Tymoshenko is appropriate," the Post concluded.

A President Who Will Soberly Assess Reality

At the same time, the “Self-help” party believes that the showman is too unpredictable for the presidency, and his victory faces great risks.

“As far as I know, Ukraine’s western partners are against it. He is too unpredictable candidate, and his statement that he will begin to negotiate with Russia and is ready to make concessions in order to suspend hostilities, causes horror in the United States. I think the real struggle will unfold between Yulia Tymoshenko and Petro Poroshenko, ”the interlocutor from the“ Self-help ”party believes.

The party "Batkivschina" believe that the victory of Zelensky can lead to confrontation between various political forces.

“Can you imagine if all the trump cards will go exclusively to Igor Kolomoisky?” How will the other oligarchs react? Poroshenko and his comrades will begin to pursue, a huge campaign will be launched against Zelensky, ”said the source RT.

The party says that the showman may not have enough experience to make important decisions.

“And if he signs an agreement on the return of Donbass to Ukraine, then a civil war may begin ... One wrong move and everything can break out. I am afraid that Zelensky simply has no experience in order to avoid serious mistakes, ”they concluded in“ Batkivschyna ”.

  • Zelensky and his political opponents
  • Reuters
  • © Mykola Tys

Presidential elections in Ukraine are scheduled for March 31, 2019. The post of the head of state is claimed by a record number of candidates - 39 people.

The Kremlin claims that they would like to see at the head of Ukraine the president of the world, not war. This was told by the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov.

"For the Kremlin, it’s definitely better that the president will come to power in Ukraine and be elected by the Ukrainians, who will soberly assess the reality that political wisdom will prevail, who will not be president of the war, but will become president of the world including the Russian Federation, ”RIA Novosti cites Peskov’s words.