KIEV, April 1. /TASS/. The campaign headquarters of incumbent Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has called on all candidates to be calm when hearing the news about his victory in the runoff election.
"We call on all candidates to be calm when hearing the news about Pyotr Poroshenko’s victory," a spokesman for the campaign headquarters Maxim Savrasov said. "We are urging the candidates from democratic forces, who have not reached the run-off, to support democratic and pro-European candidates."
After the ballot stations were closed, Poroshenko said on Monday he would start struggling for victory in the runoff and called on patriotic candidates "on the pro-Ukrainian platform" to come together. Poroshenko also urged young Ukrainians, who mostly favored the frontrunner in the race, showman and head of the Servant of the People political party Vladimir Zelensky, to support the incumbent president.
Ukraine’s Central Election Commission has counted 53.25% of ballots. According to the latest data, Zelensky is extending his lead over other candidates, winning 30.23% of the vote. Poroshenko comes second with 16.61%, followed by the leader the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko, with 13.08%.
The ballot stations closed at 8 p.m. on Sunday. The runoff election is scheduled for April 21.