Zelensky Seeks to Boost Power as Ukraine Votes

Date: 21 July 2019 - 21:46

News ID: ۶۸۳۷۲

KIEV (AFP) -- Ukrainians on Sunday went to the polls to elect a new parliament as comedian-turned-president Volodymyr Zelensky seeks to bring in political newcomers and consolidate power.
Zelensky's newly-created party is expected to win the largest share of the votes in the early polls expected to usher in a new era in the country dominated up to now by politicians who grew up in the Soviet Union.
The leader's party Servant of the People -- named after a sitcom in which he played a president -- is predicted to get roughly half of the vote even though it barely existed before Zelensky won a landslide victory in an April presidential vote.
Zelensky, however, may not secure a majority and would need to form a coalition, possibly with rock star Svyatoslav Vakarchuk's newly-created party Golos (Voice).
After casting his ballot, the 41-year-old leader said he would make a decision about possible coalition partners after the results of the vote are out.
"We do not see a coalition with the old authorities," Zelensky said in the capital Kiev, wearing a casual blue shirt.
The outgoing parliament, dominated by Zelensky's predecessor Petro Poroshenko, has been hostile to the actor, who called a snap election during his swearing-in as president.
The Ukrainian president must share power with parliament, which will nominate a prime minister and form a government.
Many said they voted for the leader's party.
"He was elected but he can't do anything. They (lawmakers) constantly put sticks in his wheels and dump his ideas," Valentyna, an 82-year-old pensioner told AFP in central Kiev.
The rise of Zelensky and his party has been viewed as a rejection of Ukraine's political elite for failing to improve living standards, root out corruption and end the conflict with Russian-backed separatists that began in 2014.
Some said they wanted the former comedian and the rock singer to join forces to push through much-needed reform.
In a boon for the Kremlin, a pro-Moscow party called Opposition Platform–For Life is the second most popular in opinion polls, with up to 13 percent of voter support.
One of the party's top candidates, Viktor Medvedchuk is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and claims he is his daughter's godfather. The two met for talks in Russia just days before the vote.