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Ukrainian President Poroshenko shells out $15 million in bid to get re-elected

According to media reports, all of Poroshenko’s money spent on the campaign race comes out of his own pocket

KIEV, March 26. /TASS/. President Pyotr Poroshenko has outstripped his rivals in spending on the presidential race that has been carrying on already for almost three months, according to interim financial reports supplied by the presidential hopefuls, the LB.ua internet edition reports on Tuesday.

According to the documents, Poroshenko has forked out 407.8 million hryvnias (about $15 million) on his election campaign, while Batkivshchina (Fatherland) Party leader Yulia Timoshenko put up more than six million dollars. The frontrunner, showman Vladimir Zelensky has spent 3.2 million dollars.

All of Poroshenko’s money spent on the campaign race comes out of his own pocket. In contrast, Timoshenko’s campaign is funded by the party, while the election fund of Zelensky consists of 75% of voluntary donations, while the remaining amount is his own or the party’s money.

The third biggest spender on the campaign race is Alexander Vilkul, deputy head of the Opposition Bloc parliamentary faction. He has shelled out more than four million dollars in his bid to get elected to the Ukrainian presidency. The fourth largest spender is the leader of the Civic Position Party, Anatoly Gritsenko, with $3.8 million.

The election campaign of Radical Party leader Oleg Lyashko has cost him more than three million dollars, while parliamentarians Sergey Taruta and Alexander Shevchenko have spent $3.6 million and $2.2 million, respectively.

All other contenders have been more modest in their campaign expenditures, with 370,000 dollars or less spent. Four out of the registered 39 candidates have not spent a red cent on their election campaigns.

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