All news

Current presidential campaign is Ukraine’s most costly - experts

Outdoor campaigning by supporters of incumbent president Petr Poroshenko   Anna Marchenko/TASS
Outdoor campaigning by supporters of incumbent president Petr Poroshenko
© Anna Marchenko/TASS

KIEV, March 22. /TASS/. The current presidential election campaign is the most expensive in the history of independent Ukraine, according to experts of Ukraine’s Vozrozhdeniye foundation and the Chestno movement, whose findings were quoted by the TSN TV show.

"[Incumbent President] Pyotr Poroshenko is a sure winner. Last year, he spent record 175 million hryvnias (approximately $6.5 million) for his ads on TV. In the first two months of this year, when the election campaign officially kicked off, he was overtaken by Yulia Timoshenko. In January and February alone, she paid 79 million hryvnias (about $3 million) for advertising on TV. Poroshenko, [businessman Sergei] Taruta, [lawmaker Alexander] Vilkul and [opposition leader Yuri] Boyko spent between 50 and 55 million hryvnias ($1.8-$2 million)," the experts said.

A record number of candidates - 39 people - will take part in Ukraine’s presidential election due on March 31, 2019. According to opinion polls, comedian Vladimir Zelensky (24.9%) leads the race, followed by leader of the Batkivshchina (or Fatherland) party Yulia Timoshenko (18.8%) and incumbent President Pyotr Poroshenko (17.4%).