Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the Batkivshchyna party, received the certificate of the presidential candidate of Ukraine. According to opinion polls, it is she who heads the rating of candidates for the presidency. Elections of the head of state will be held in Ukraine on March 31.
January 29 documents to the Central Election Commission (CEC) must file the current president Petro Poroshenko. His main competitor, in addition to Tymoshenko, sociologists call actor Vladimir Zelensky. The showman filed documents with the CEC on January 25 and is seriously looking forward to winning the pre-election race.
Another representative of the creative profession - the singer Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, who had previously announced his political ambitions - has not yet made a final decision on the nomination for the post of head of state.
- Yulia Tymoshenko communicates with voters
- Reuters
- © Alexander Prokopenko
Currently, according to the CEC of Ukraine, 20 people have received a “crust” of the presidential candidate. Among them, Oleg Lyashko, Chairman of the Radical Party, Yury Boyko, one of the leaders of the movement “Opposition Platform - For Life”, Lviv Mayor Andrei Sadovy, head of the Our Party, Yevgeny Murayev, member of the “Opposition Bloc - Peace and Development Party” Alexander Vilkul.
Martial law and tomos-tour
According to a RT source in the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko is very determined to win the election campaign. Currently, he is negotiating with the heads of regions and cities, accumulating "administrative resource". Poroshenko considers Tymoshenko and Zelensky to be their key opponents.
As the source of RT in the “Batkivshchyna” party notes, an important advantage of Tymoshenko is that she is a more compromise figure. Her candidacy is allegedly supported by big business, which is unhappy that Poroshenko’s entourage "controls all key sectors of the economy."
In an interview with RT, head of the department of political science and sociology, expert of the Association of military political scientists of the PRUE. Plekhanov Andriy Koshkin noted that Poroshenko hopes to circumvent Tymoshenko with the help of public relations on the conflict in the Kerch Strait and the "successes" in strengthening the army.
“The aggravation of relations with Russia at the end of last year and the“ captivity ”of Ukrainian sailors was advantageous for Poroshenko. I have no doubt that it was he who provoked the incident with the passage of the Ukrainian ships through the Kerch Strait. As a result, he pushed through the introduction of martial law, although his plan did not fully work, and it was approved only for 30 days, ”recalled Koshkin.
Another main current topic for the electoral PR Poroshenko Koshkin called getting Kiev from the Ecumenical Patriarchate Tomos in early January 2019. As a result, a new religious organization was formed in Ukraine - the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (PCU) through the merger of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC).
- Head of the CPU, Epiphanius (Dumenko) and President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko
- © Press service of the President of Ukraine
Poroshenko considers receiving tomos one of the most important events in the history of Ukraine. According to him, it is allegedly impossible to create an independent state without an independent church. In a Christmas greeting, the incumbent president stated that the appearance of the PCA allowed the release of the Ukrainian “ancient church from Moscow bondage.”
In order to demonstrate the tomos (a written document) to the citizens of Ukraine, Poroshenko visited Volyn, Rovno, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Boryspil, Vinnitsa. Journalists called Poroshenko’s visits “Tomos Tours”.
“333 years ago, the Moscow yoke was put on the Ukrainian church. All these years, generations of Ukrainians have prayed that the Lord would send us independence, the autocephaly of the local church, ”Poroshenko said during a visit to Rivne.
In a conversation with RT, the head of the Center for System Analysis and Forecasting Rostislav Ischenko noted that the “tomos-tour” started before Poroshenko submitted documents to the CEC. Nevertheless, the current president is actively using the autocephaly for his own political purposes, which is the direct intervention of the state in the affairs of the church and the spiritual life of society, Ischenko points out.
“Poroshenko did not register as a candidate, but he is already leading the election campaign, boasting imaginary church independence. He is allowed to drive around all the regions, gather people, and campaign for his own support. Poroshenko is trying to demonstrate to voters that Ukraine cannot survive without a “single church”, and the tomos is his merit, ”Ischenko explained.
The RT source in the Samopomich party declared that Poroshenko and his main rival Tymoshenko ascribe absurd achievements to themselves and make unrealistic promises. In particular, he noted that the leader of the “Batkishchyna” is “embarrassing Ukrainians with the thought of lowering the price of gas”, and Poroshenko convinces voters that the HCV will change life in the country for the better. According to the interlocutor RT, "the leaders of the race will do anything to win."
- Petro Poroshenko speaks to the Ukrainians
- © Press service of the President of Ukraine
"The final decision for the United States"
On January 24, the Obolonsky district court of Kiev announced the verdict to the ex-president Viktor Yanukovych in the case of high treason. The former head of state, who has been in Russia since February 2014, received 13 years of imprisonment for training, initiating and waging an “aggressive war”. Announcement of the verdict caused a great resonance in the Ukrainian media.
Rostislav Ischenko believes that the information hype around the sentence to the ex-president will also serve as a pretext for pre-election PR in Ukraine. According to him, the figure of Yanukovych symbolizes the “outdated regime”, and the conviction verdict handed down by the court - the victory of “everything bright and new over the old”.
“Hypothetically, this allows presidential candidates to return to the idea of Maidan and tell how they fought heroically against the Yanukovych regime. However, this is unlikely to work. The promises of the “revolution of dignity” were not fulfilled. In addition, the yard is no longer 2014, when Yanukovych’s criticism and the demand for retribution for the “robbery” of the country brought points, ”Ischenko said.
The RT source in the Popular Front party said that only two candidates have a real chance of winning: Poroshenko and Tymoshenko. Lyashko, Zelensky and other candidates will use the election to get to the Verkhovna Rada. Anatoly Koshkin adheres to a similar point of view.
- Independence Square in Kiev, during the clashes of protesters and police officers
- RIA News
- © Andrey Stenin
“Everyone except Tymoshenko and Poroshenko understand that they will not become presidents, but they pursue other goals. First of all, this is raising the rating for further political activity or a game in favor of its sponsor, like in Zelensky, who is associated with oligarch Kolomoisky. In total, more than 20 people will be registered. Obviously, some of them will play the role of “technical candidates” who select votes from more popular people, ”explained Koshkin.
Rostislav Ischenko is convinced that the current election campaign in Ukraine will be as dirty and dishonest as all previous ones. According to the expert, the candidates will go to various tricks to win voter sympathy, but in reality, as in 2014, the President of Ukraine will be chosen not by the people, but by the United States.
“I have no doubt that the media-controlled candidates will merge an incredible amount of compromising material. The campaign to slander individual politicians is in full swing now. The toughest confrontation unfolded between Poroshenko and Tymoshenko. After a defeat, one of them may end up in prison or in a grave, if he does not leave the country. In any case, the final decision is for the United States, but they have not yet decided on their sympathies, ”Ischenko said.