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Ukrainians see Zelensky as worst candidate for president, poll shows

As many as 22% of those surveyed said they would under no circumstances vote for Vladimir Zelensky

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Ukrainians see Vladimir Zelensky as the worst candidate in a potential presidential election, a poll conducted by the SOCIS Center for Social and Marketing Research showed.

As many as 22% of those surveyed said they would under no circumstances vote for Zelensky. Another 21.8% have no plans to vote for ex-Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko (included in the Russian financial watchdog's list of individuals involved in extremist activities or terrorism). A total of 16.6% of respondents are reluctant to vote for parliament member Yury Boiko, and 10.6% said they would never cast their ballots for ex-Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko.

The face-to-face poll involving 2,000 people over the age of 18 was conducted in the Kiev-controlled areas on December 12-18. The margin of error is about 2.6%.

Zelensky’s presidential term officially expired on May 20, 2024, but Kiev chose not to hold an election, claiming that it’s impossible as long as martial law was in place. US President Donald Trump stated on December 9 that the time had come for Ukraine to hold elections. The US leader argued that Kiev was taking advantage of the conflict to delay the process. Zelensky said on the same day that he was ready to hold elections but it would require legislative changes and measures to ensure security so that service members could also cast their ballots. He asked parliament members to prepare "legislative amendments," and called on the US and Europe to ensure the safety of the vote.

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