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Kiev, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has accused the comedian Volodymyr Zelensky, his opponent and favorite, during a second presidential ballot, to be the puppet of an oligarch.
In an article published on Facebook on Monday, Poroshenko spoke of Zelensky's success in polls Sunday with the work of "Kremlin agents" and oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, owner of the television channel that broadcasts Zelensky's sitcom. .
"I start the fight to win in the second round," he said.
According to the official vote count published by the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Ukraine, Zelensky got about 30% of the vote, against 26% in Poroshenko.
The participation rate was over 63%, said the CEC. The second round is scheduled for April 21st.
Many Ukrainians who used social media to react to election results blamed Poroshenko for his poor performance in the first round.
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Yuri Kasyanov wrote on Facebook: "Every five years of his presidency, [Poroshenko] did everything possible and impossible, did everything in his power, to the point of disgust, for the people to vote for everyone, but not for politicians. "
Kasyanov accused the president of "destroying Maidan's achievements" [the anti-government protests that brought him to power]".
"It was he who flushed the unprecedented patriotic rise of the first months of the war, and he set up an unprecedented system of corruption, causing blood loss," he said. he declares.
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| Zelensky is best known for playing the role of president in a sitcom on television [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters] |
But for many supporters of Poroshenko, he seems to be the only guarantor of security.
"Of course, I can not say that Poroshenko is an ideal candidate, but if we want to preserve the sovereignty of our country and guarantee our fundamental physical security, the choice is clear. [in his favour]"Evgeniy Podroiko, a 34-year-old computer scientist, told Al Jazeera.
The chances of Poroshenko
Despite his poor performance in the first round, the outgoing president could still control his opponent in the second round, said Volodymyr Fesenko, director of the Penta Center for Political Studies.
"A lot of the candidates who were not able to go to the second round represent the opposition and the majority of their supporters will vote for Zelensky at the end of the second round," Fesenko told Al Jazeera. "But Poroshenko still has a chance to win."
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He added that Poroshenko would try to defeat Zelensky in debates he had avoided before the first round.
"Poroshenko will try to show that he is better, more competent and prepared, while Zelensky is weak, inexperienced and not ready for the presidency," said Fesenko.
Poroshenko's team will also try to scare Ukrainian voters by saying that Russia will conquer Ukraine under a weak president, he said.
According to Fesenko, Poroshenko's team could also try to get a low stake that would help Poroshenko in the second round.
Mixed inheritance
Sunday's vote was the first since the so-called dignity revolution brought Poroshenko to power five years ago.
Aged 53, elected with nearly 55% of the vote in 2014, he seems to have failed to rally his electorate despite his efforts to be seen as a pbadionate advocate for the territorial unity of the country, as well as the accession to the European Union and NATO.
During his tenure, Poroshenko strengthened the country's army and ratified the badociation agreement with the EU, the document that allowed Ukrainians to trade with Europe and Europe. to travel to Europe without restrictions.
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The incumbent president also badured the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to his Russian counterpart.
But he failed to rid the country of corruption, nor to recover money stolen from the coffers of Ukraine before he came to power.
The elections were held in the context of a war that killed more than 13,000 people in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in eastern Ukraine, the government forces fighting separatists backed by Russia.
The conflict took place after the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, in turn, after the overthrow of Chief Viktor Yanukovych, supported by Moscow, earlier that year.
Many of the approximately 35 million eligible voters were unable or unwilling to vote in the occupied territories.
Follow Tamila Varshalomidze from Al Jazeera on Twitter @ tamila87v
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