With nearly 90% of the ballots counted, Volodymyr Zelensky — a comedian who has promised to wipe out corruption — holds a commanding lead after the first round of voting in Ukraine's presidential election.
Emily Ferris, a Russia research fellow at the London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute, said voters’ behavior can be unpredictable and many may opt out for continuity when faced with a choice between Poroshenko and"an unknown alternative" like Zelensky in the runoff.
But his inability to tackle rampant corruption and plummeting living standards had prompted many to consider alternatives. He then called Zelensky"a puppet of oligarch Igor Kolomoyskyi," and said that Russian President Vladimir Putin"dreams of a soft, meek, compliant, giggling, inexperienced and weak, ideologically amorphous and politically undecided president of Ukraine."
"Such a polarizing campaign, though, is one of the reasons why many Ukrainians support Zelensky," Jarábik added.
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