KIEV, June 02, 18:01 /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine’s Central Election Commission (CEC) on Monday announced official results after 100% of ballots have been counted in the May 25 early presidential election in Ukraine.
Billionaire businessman and politician Petro Poroshenko won the vote with 54.7%. His closest rival, ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko, gained 12.81% and Radical Party leader Oleh Lyashko is in the third place with 8.32%
Overall, 17,774,845 voters took part in the election, the CEC said.
Petro Poroshenko was born September 26, 1965, in the Odessa region. He has graduated from the Kiev University with a degree in economics from the faculty of international relations and international law.
In the 1990s, he engaged in business and headed the Ukrprominvest consortium. In 2000, he set up and chaired the Solidarity party. After the victory of the ‘orange revolution’, in 2005 he was appointed Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and in 2007 — head of Ukraine’s National Bank. In 2009-2010 he was minister of foreign affairs, in 2012 he became minister of trade and economic development. Since December 2012, Petro Poroshenko is Verkhovna Rada deputy and member of the committee on European integration. He owns the Roshen consortium, the largest confectionery manufacturer in Ukraine. He ranks 7th in the Forbes list of richest people in Ukraine.
The new Ukrainian president is likely to be sworn in on June 7. Poroshenko earlier told media he had provided assistance to Euromaidan protesters in Kiev.
“Euromaidan” is a collective name for anti-government protests in Ukraine that started when President Viktor Yanukovich refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union in November last year to study the deal more thoroughly.
The refusal triggered protests that often turned violent and resulted in a coup in Ukraine in February.
How presidential elections are held in Ukraine
According to the electoral legislation, irrespective of how many people go to the polls, elections would be reckoned valid. Therefore, the voter turnout is of no importance. CEC preliminary data have it that voter turnout at Sunday's early presidential elections was 60.76%.
Under the provisions of the law, Ukraine's presidential election is held in two rounds. If in the first round one of candidates scores more than 50% of the vote, he is recognized as winner.