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Comedian Zelensky announces plans to run for Ukrainian president

The Ukrainian media reported earlier that Zelensky was determined to stand in the presidential election

KIEV, January 1. /TASS/. Ukrainian comedy actor Vladimir Zelensky, ranked second by opinion polls concerning potential presidential candidates, plans to run for president in the election scheduled for March 31, 2019, as he himself said during the Evening Quarter show on the 1+1 TV channel.

"I am going to run for president. Everybody has been asking me whether it is ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ I say ‘yes’," he said.

The Ukrainian media reported earlier that Zelensky was determined to stand in the presidential election. "Zelensky will run the election but he will wait until the last minute before making his plans public," a source close to businessman Igor Kolomoisky, the owner of the 1+1 TV channel, told the Strana news outlet.

Zelensky’s election campaign is based on the new season of the Servant of the People TV series, which will start airing in March right before the election and is expected to boost the candidate’s popularity.

According to recent opinion polls, Zelensky has the support of nine percent of potential voters, while leader of the Batkivshchina (or Fatherland) party Yulia Timoshenko is first with 14.2%.

The Ukrainian presidential election is scheduled to be held on March 31. The final candidate list will be announced by February 9.

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