Polling stations in Ukraine closed at 20:00. According to the results of the exit TV channel “1 + 1”, Vladimir Zelensky wins in the second round of presidential elections, gaining 72.7% of the vote. According to the exit poll of the channel "112 Ukraine", Zelensky scored 73.7% of the vote, the current president Petro Poroshenko - 26.3%.
According to the National exit poll, Zelensky is gaining 73.2% of the vote, Poroshenko - 25.3%. According to the website of the CEC of Ukraine, the turnout in the second round of elections was 62.07%.
Petro Poroshenko noted that the results of the exit poll are obvious. According to him, the elections in Ukraine were fair, transparent and in accordance with international standards.
“Next month I will leave the post of head of state. So most Ukrainians decided, and I accept this decision. I will leave the office, but I will not leave politics, ”said Poroshenko.
In turn, Vladimir Zelensky said that the current leader has already congratulated him on his victory by telephone.
“I am grateful to him (Petro Poroshenko . - RT ) - he said that I can count on his help at any time. He acknowledged the victory of my and my team, "- said Zelensky at a briefing on Sunday evening.
Also, the leader of the presidential vote did not rule out that Poroshenko could take any post in the new government, but this depends on the “desire of the public.”
Recall that the second round of the presidential election in Ukraine began on April 21 at 8:00, the current head of state, Petro Poroshenko, and the showman, the leader of the new “Servant of the People” party, Vladimir Zelensky, fought for the presidency.
Voting took place in 200 constituencies in which 29,982 electoral commissions worked. About 30.3 million citizens of Ukraine have the right to vote for a candidate.
Already in the first round, held on March 31, Zelensky gained a double advantage over his rival, gaining 30.23% of the vote, while about 15.94% of the voters voted for Poroshenko. Turnout then was 63.52%.
The residents of the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass, as well as Ukrainian citizens who were on Russian territory at the time of voting did not take part in the elections. Kiev closed polling stations in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk, although in Russia there are about 3 million Ukrainians who have the right to vote.
To participate in the elections, the Ukrainian CEC invited them to proceed to Georgia, Kazakhstan, Finland or directly to Ukraine. Rada also forbade Russian citizens to take part in the observation of the voting, this restriction in Moscow was called illegitimate.
"Candidate of War"
Petro Poroshenko fought for the victory to the last. On the day of silence, the politician signed a decree on the European and Euro-Atlantic orientation of Ukraine. This document implies a series of steps to accelerate the European integration of the state and Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Experts do not doubt that the signing of Poroshenko’s decree was primarily an element of his election campaign.
At the same time, literally several hours before the beginning of the second round of elections in the Sixth Appeal Court of Kiev, a trial was held on the suit of lawyer and election observer from the Ukrainian Association of Shareholders public organization Andriy Khilko, who demanded that Vladimir Zelensky’s candidacy be removed from the elections, accusing the showman of bribing voters . The reason for the appeal was the distribution of free tickets to the debates that took place on April 19 at the Kiev Olympic Stadium. However, the court rejected the claim, considering the arguments of the plaintiff untenable.
Although Khilko specifically stressed that he is not a representative of Petro Poroshenko’s interests, the lawyer could actually play into the hands of the current president by his actions.
- Reuters
- © Viacheslav Ratynskyi
However, according to most experts, Poroshenko lost his chance to close the gap with a competitor long before April 21.
A few days before the second round of elections, the courts rendered a series of decisions in favor of the disgraced oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, in particular, the district administrative court of Kiev declared the nationalization of PrivatBank illegal. And before that, an old opponent of Petro Poroshenko, Nadezhda Savchenko, unexpectedly appeared at liberty: the term of the previous ruling on the preventive measure in the form of arrest expired, the judges did not renew it. According to experts, thus the judicial system began to adapt to the new government in advance.
Speaking about the reasons for Poroshenko’s total unpopularity, experts note that for the most part, the Ukrainian population was counting on economic growth, growth in the well-being of citizens and an end to the military conflict in the Donbas, but Poroshenko did not achieve any of these goals.
“Now in the eyes of the Ukrainians, Poroshenko is a candidate of war, and Zelensky is peace. Voting for Zelensky, in fact, is a protest vote, the majority of voters simply express their attitude to the entire political class in Ukraine in this way, ”Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at MPGU, said in an interview with RT.
"The Story of the Next President"
However, experts do not exclude that after the post-election euphoria subsides and the new president takes legal authority, his rating will start to decline gradually.
“Petro Poroshenko never forgets anything, he will not depart from politics, but will go into opposition to Vladimir Zelensky. Together with him, Yulia Tymoshenko will also criticize Zelensky. I think Zelensky’s rating will fall in six months, ”said a source in Petro Poroshenko’s Block in an interview with RT.
As Vladimir Shapovalov explained, all political activity in Ukraine since it gained sovereignty in 1991 was due to the struggle and interests of various oligarchic groups.
- Igor Kolomoisky
- Reuters
- © Valentyn Ogirenko
“It is foolish to deny the link Zelensky and Kolomoisky, however, and it can not be absolutized. For Kolomoisky is extremely important to remove Poroshenko, who deprived him of his business. In principle, much depends on how Zelensky forms his program and policy. However, there are doubts that Zelensky will be able to pursue an independent course: he will have to take into account the interests of the Kolomoisky group and other oligarchs and maneuver between them, ”the expert explained in an interview with RT.
The RT source in the Popular Front party noted that Petro Poroshenko himself is an oligarch, and in this connection, the electorate is not embarrassed by the rumors about Zelensky’s connections with another oligarch, Kolomoisky.
“People believe that Zelensky is able to change the life of the population for the better. He is young, was not previously in politics and did not have time to do something silly. This is more important for voters now than its possible connection with Igor Kolomoisky, ”the RT source said.
One of the powerful tools that turned Zelensky from a popular showman into a popular politician was the television series “The Servant of the People”. A similar name was given to the party that nominated the former comedian to the polls.
Interestingly, the work on the series began in 2015 - after Igor Kolomoysky and Petro Poroshenko had a feud. Kolomoisky then lost a stake in Ukrnafta and control of the country's largest credit institution, PrivatBank.
The premiere of "The Servant of the People" was held on Kolomoisky "1 + 1" channel, the series was the most rated for the year. The film's slogan is “The Story of the Next President”, and the authors made a lot of efforts to mix the fictional story of the “honest president of the people” with reality. The day before the regional elections of 2015, tents appeared in the streets of the Ukrainian capital campaigning for “President Goloborodko” - the character of Zelensky in the series.
Already in 2017, the showman was talked about as a possible candidate for the presidency, long before he announced plans to run for the 2019 election.
According to Vladimir Shapovalov, the series “The Servant of the People” was the main component of Vladimir Zelensky’s electoral success.
“Thanks to the TV show and the Quarter 95 show, he managed not only to create a successful image for agitation, but also to form and present an anti-political political message close to Ukrainians,” the expert explained.
"Request for a new face"
It should be noted that such qualities as moderation and a tendency toward dialogue did not immediately show up in Zelensky: in 2014, the comedian made tough enough remarks to the residents of Donbass, although now he talks a lot about the need to unite the people. Politics were often blamed for the lack of a coherent program and clear articulation of their positions on issues important to the country.
A few days before the second round of elections, Zelensky gave a detailed interview to the RBC-Ukraine portal, in which he actually supported many steps taken by the administration of Petro Poroshenko. For example, Zelensky agrees with the need to “slam” Russian social networks, but on one condition - in his opinion, Ukrainians must first provide an alternative platform.
- The servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbas, 2019.
- © Gleb Garanich / Reuters
He supported Zelensky and the language policy of Kiev, calling the authorities' initiatives in this area "normal." He does not like him only how reform is covered in the information space. Television and radio language quotas will remain under Zelensky - in his opinion, the question is only in their regulation.
In order to resolve the situation in the south-east of the country, Zelensky intends to simply “record a video every day,” in which he will tell Donbas about the benefits of joining NATO.
“NATO is a class, security, army level, everything is clear. But I want to unite the country, ”said Zelensky.
At the same time, the politician does not intend to amnesty the DPR and LNR militias and grant Donbas a special status.
Some of the voters shared their expectations with RT from the upcoming presidency of Vladimir Zelensky.
“Our whole family votes for him, because we want to improve relations with Russia. We have many relatives there, but it’s more and more difficult for them to visit us because of the relations between the countries. In addition, we want to stop the war, ”said Irina Taranova, a resident of Sumy.
IT specialist Oleg Zarichnyy hopes that Zelensky will overcome corruption and stop the military conflict in the south-east of the country.
“The most important thing is to stop the hostilities. Several of my acquaintances lost relatives there, ”he said.
Vladimir Zelensky was able to play on the feeling of total fatigue of Ukrainians from unfulfilled promises of power, experts say.
“Zelensky’s victory is a triumph of anti-establishment moods. In Ukraine, a request has been formed for a new face, for a person not connected with the current political class and politics in principle, ”said Vladimir Shapovalov.