Vladimir Zelenskiy. Studio Kvartal 95 via Wikimedia Commons
Balázs Jarábik, Politico: Ukraine’s joke of an election
Comedian’s presidential bid is no laughing matter.
KIEV — There’s a joke circulating in the Ukrainian capital: “For years, we have voted for serious people, and all we got is farce. So why not vote for a comedian and see what happens?”
Ukrainians are deeply ambivalent about the presidential election coming up on March 31. About a fifth of the electorate is undecided. Many have lost what little trust they had in the government. This widespread atmosphere of discontent has created an opening for an unlikely dark horse candidate: the comedian Vladimir Zelenskiy.
A Russian speaker from the southern city of Kryvy Rih, Zelenskiy looks poised to garner votes among those disillusioned with Ukraine’s status quo and doubtful about the prospect of corruption being tackled under more traditional candidates. Two polls published last week showed him pulling ahead of his rivals.
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Update: Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky may become Ukraine's next president. (SBS)
WNU Editor: Vladimir Zelenskiy is a Russian-Ukrainian, which means that he will garner the support of the country's Russian-Ukrainian population. With 30 candidates vying for the top job, this does put him at an advantage. But this will not be enough for him to win in the second round, unless he can put together an effective ground team that will help him bring his supporters to the polls. I personally do not know much about him, but from what I have seen he is portraying himself as the anti-establishment candidate, and he has shown a willingness to compromise on the issue of granting a certain amount of autonomy to the Donbas region to end the civil war. This is a policy that I personally support. Not surprising, his opponents are now trying to scare the Ukrainian electorate on what this may mean .... Expert warns of separatism threats across Ukraine in case Donbas gains autonomy (UNIAN).
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