In the second round of national elections, Ukrainians are set to head to polling stations as the country votes.
Political newcomer, Volodymyr Zelensky, who is also a television comedian is just on track to make history and cause quite a stir with the most recent polls clearly showing an incredibly large margin between his rival, Petro Poroshenko, incumbent Ukrainian president.
It came as a surprise when Mr Zelensky decided to enter the presidential race, given that he is popularly known – as in his comedy series – as an out-of-luck schoolteacher who all of a sudden becomes president of Ukraine. He’s also popularly known as “Servant of the people.”
In the first round of voting on April 1, Mr Zelensky won, receiving more than 30% of votes cast while Poroshenko, 53, came in second place with just 16% of the total votes.
Billionaire businessman known for his ownership of Roshen, the chocolate manufacturer, Poroshenko came to power after 2013 pro-Western Maidan protests. Despite opposition from Russia, he has since pursued a pro-European agenda, first outlining a program of social and economic reforms that he said targeted preparations for his country to apply for EU membership in 2020.
Despite this, his term has been riddled by suggestions of mass corruption and a flagging economy. Ukraine is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with a moderately growing number of people emigrating for better economic opportunities.
Poroshenko ran on a militant patriotic platform in order to win the crowd and portrayed himself as a tough guy who could stand up to Vladimir Putin, Russian counterpart.
Ahead of the vote, Poroshenko also talked about Putin in a Facebook post where he said, “He personally, and the country he leads, are the biggest threat to Ukraine and to its every citizen.”
But it may be too little, too late for Ukrainians exhausted from a five-year proxy war with Russia.