KIEV, May 25 /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine’s presidential election was launched on Sunday against the background of the “antiterrorist” operation that is underway in the east of the country. At 08:00 (09:00 MSK) sharp, polling stations were opened in the country for 35.5 million eligible voters.
A total of 33,674 polling stations were to start work, however, the information about how many of them were opened in actual fact will be made public by the Central Election Commission (CEC) at the first briefing for reporters at about noon.
It is known that 114 polling stations have been organised outside Ukraine, including six - in Russia.
On the ballot papers there are a total of 21 presidential candidates, representing the whole Ukrainian political spectrum.
Director General of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine Aleksandr Chernenko said that early elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions might not take place in 21 districts of the total 34.
A total of 282 official observers from 19 countries, including 61 from Poland and 38 from the United States, as well as about 3,000 observers from 20 international organisations will give their assessment to the election. As many as 1,056 of them represent the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Russia’s official observers have not arrived to monitor this Ukrainian presidential election.