Presidential election in Ukraine has concluded amid unrest, precipitated by a recent power takeover. Ukrainian confectionery tycoon Pyotr Poroshenko is in a commanding lead after the first round of voting, as Lugansk and Donetsk boycott the vote.
Polling stations have opened at 8am (06:00 GMT) and will be operating until 8pm.
To learn more about uneasy presidential election in Ukraine check out RT’s 10 you need to know about Ukrainian presidential poll. There are 21 presidential candidates participating in the election, which in some cities coincide with mayoral ballots.
14 June 2014
A homemade bomb has been detected near the administration building of Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, reports Ukrainian news agency UNIAN.
The bomb is reportedly consisted of several grenades, sub-munitions and a cell phone. A man who set up the bomb was noticed, but he escaped before putting the bomb into the firing position.
26 May 2014
Monitors of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) characterized the Ukrainian elections as “transparent and largely in line with procedures” in a report issued Monday.
According to the OSCE statement drawing on conclusions of some 1,000 observers, there was a “high turnout and the clear resolve of authorities to hold what was a genuine election largely in line with international commitments and with a respect for fundamental freedoms in the vast majority of the country,” with a notable exception of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
Speaking at the Monday press conference on preliminary findings, OSCE representatives largely painted a positive picture of the elections, with the exception of some “transparency issues” that arose on the eve of the polls. Some major problems, according to the OSCE version of events, arose during the election campaign, “subdued and overshadowed by political and security developments.”
According to the OSCE, there were “intimidation and attacks on party offices” and candidates “obstructed in their campaign.” While pointing at such cases in eastern Ukraine, the monitors failed to mention that intimidation and attacks also targeted opposition leaders, as was in the case of brutal beating of withdrawn candidate Oleg Tsaryov, former Party of Regions MP.
Famous boxer and leader of Ukrainian Udar (Strike) Party, Vitaly Klitschko, is leading the Kiev mayoral elections with 56.33 percent of the vote, according to results so far received from 52 percent of the Ukrainian capital’s polling stations.
Members of the Poroshenko election campaign team do not expect the election results to be challenged.
“We are not expecting any ‘surprises’,” said head of Pyotr Poroshenko’s central election headquarters, Vitaly Kovalchuk. “Besides we hope that other presidential candidates who took part in the election campaign won’t undertake any legal action in order to postpone the moment of the official announcement of voting results by the Central Election Commission.”
Hackers attempted to attack the site of Ukrainian Central Election Committee with the purpose of posting figures that would make leader of the extremist Right Sector movement, Dmitry Yarosh, the winner of the presidential race, according to UNN news agency, citing the head of the country’s Special Communications Agency, Vladimir Zverev. The attempt at a provocation was reportedly prevented.
With 45.28 percent of the election protocols counted, Pyotr Poroshenko is leading the race with 54.05 percent of the votes cast, according to the Central Elections Committee.Poroshenko’s main election rival, ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko of the Batkivschina (Fatherland) Party, has garnered 13.13 percent of the vote.
Ukrainian confectionery tycoon Pyotr Poroshenko has spent 90 million hryvnia ($ 7.5 million) on his election campaign, head of the Joint Staff of the candidate Vitaliy Kovalchukat announced at a press briefing..
With 10.17 percent of the election protocols counted, Poroshenko is leading the race with 54.8 percent of the votes cast, according to the Central Elections Committee
25 May 2014
Sources in Donetsk city administration told Ria Novosti that elections did not take place in large parts of the region, in 23 cities and 6 districts.
“Valid elections cannot be considered in Avdeyevka, Artemovsk, Ugledar, Gorlovka, Debalcevo, Dzerzhinsk, Donetsk, Druzhkovka, Yenakievo Zhdanovka, Kirov, Konstantinovka, Kramatorsk, Krasniy Liman, Makeyevka, Novgorodovke, Slavyansk, Snezhny, Torez, Khartsyzk, Shahtarsk , Yasinovataya – in 23 cities," the source said.
Ukrainian confectionary tycoon Pyotr Poroshenko is winning the presidential election in the first round of voting, having secured more than 50 percent of votes, several exit polls show.
This video – which, according to the description was filmed in the port city of Odessa - shows a violation of the voting process at one of polling stations.
Deputy Head of Ukraine’s Interior Ministry Sergey Yarovoy said that one person was killed and one more injured in a shootout at a polling station in Novoaydar, Lugansk region. He added that “the so-called terrorists were detained”.
In turn, deputy head of the Central electoral commission Djanna Usenko-Chernaya said that a car with election documents from the polling stations was reportedly shelled.
Members of the district election committee in Novoaydar, Lugansk Region, were reportedly shot for refusing to open the polling station, said a member of the press service of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic.
"Our commandant reported that in Novoaydar the ‘Dnepr’ squad [a battalion of the National Guard] shot the committee members who refused to open the polling station," he told RIA Novosti.
As of 3pm Kiev time (12:00 GMT), the overall turnout at presidential election has reached 38.53 percent, reported Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission.
All 5 million ballots printed for use in the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions for presidential elections have been stolen, revealed Zhanna Usenko-Chernaya, deputy head of Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission. A day ago the abovementioned regions declared the creation of the unified state of Novorossiya (New Russia) and ruled out participation in the presidential election.
RT's Maria Finoshina and Paula Slier report the latest from Donetsk and Kiev.
Ukrainian presidential candidate and ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko of the Batkivschina (Fatherland) Party has called for a referendum on Ukraine’s accession to NATO. According to Tymoshenko, such a referendum should be held simultaneously with the run-off of the presidential elections on June 15.
Tymoshenko - who was released from jail in February after the Ukrainian MPs amended the law and decriminalized the charge of abuse of power for which she was serving a seven-year jail term - has promised to immediately apply for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership if she wins the race.
Ballot papers for the entire Donetsk Region have been collected in region’s third-largest city of Makeevka and burnt to ashes, one of the leaders of Donetsk People’s Republic told RIA Novosti. The activist was a prisoner of the new authorities in Kiev, but was exchanged for a Ukrainian security service officer 10 days ago. The act took place on the territory of the regional Directorate for Combating Organized Crime.
By midday local time in Ukraine, the highest voter turnout was registered in the Kiev (22.49 percent) and Kirovograd (22.12 percent) Regions. The lowest result is expected to be in Donetsk Region, where only 5.48 percent cast their ballots over the first four hours of voting.
According to reports, at 11AM the total percentage of those who voted in the elections was 17.52%.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) May 25, 2014
According to Ukrainian central election committee, the turnout has been “significantly higher than expected.”
Armed with knives, militants from the ultranationalist Right Sector are guarding the headquarters of Ukraine’s Central Election Commission in Kiev. Journalists are required to present their accreditation cards and passports, with Russians especially being asked about their professional activities.
Bottles of water are being allowed inside the building only after their holders agree to take several sips from them. All CEC speakers are delivering information solely in Ukrainian. There’s no Wi-Fi in the CEC headquarters.
In Nikolaev an anonymous person phoned the local election committee warning that six polling stations had been rigged with explosives. This put the casting of ballots on hold for a while. Police are attempting to track down the caller.
The presidential election protest in Donetsk, attended by over 2,500 citizens and fighters of the ‘Vostok’ (East) self-defense unit that arrived at the scene on eight military Kamaz trucks, ended with a column of about 400 activists marching to the residence of Ukraine’s richest man, billionaire Renat Akhmetov, to picket the installation.
Akhmetov, who owns a large number of coal mines and industrial facilities in the Donetsk Region, has spoken against the independence of the region and called upon citizens to boycott the independence referendum.
pro-Russia crowd in #Donetsk is about to storm the residence of their former supporter and wealthiest man in #Ukrainepic.twitter.com/sKNwpWAZ5j
— Ukraine Reporter (@StateOfUkraine) May 25, 2014
The leader of the presidential race Petro Poroshenko has cast his vote.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) May 25, 2014
According to updated information, there were 33,673 polling stations throughout Ukraine, but after the Crimean Autonomy’s secession from Ukraine and reunification with Russia, only 32,236 remain. Today in the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions only 735 out of a total 3,900 polling stations opened. Ukraine’s Central Election Commission prepared 34,693,000 ballot papers, about 10 percent of which will not be used at all.
Meanwhile, social network users are sharing a photo of Ukraine’s presidential ballot with the name of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, written across it.
В соцсетях набирает популярность фотография украинского бюллетеня, на котором написано имя президента России (ФОТО) pic.twitter.com/W0SBStuUjK
— RT на русском (@RT_russian) May 25, 2014
Kiev mayoral candidate 'Darth Nikolayevich Vader', the leader of the Ukrainian Internet Party, was denied the right of vote after he refused to remove his mask as requested by the election officials. Earlier the Sith Lord was denied the right to join the presidential race as a candidate.
Pro-federalist activists continue to disappear in the Donetsk Region. Mayoral candidate Andrey Iskra from the town of Snezhnoye, Donetsk Region, has been reported abducted. On Wednesday, the people’s mayor of the neighboring town of Torez, Irina Poltoratskaya, was also kidnapped. Earlier, the leader of the Radical Party, Oleg Lyashko, maintained that three local activists, along with the head of Snezhnoye self-defense militia, Aleksandr Simko, were arrested by Kiev authorities.
A protest against the presidential elections has gathered over 2,000 citizens in Donetsk. Activists addressing the gathering accuse authorities in Kiev of conducting military operations against the civilians in the region. The meeting is being secured by ‘Oplot’ (Palladium) militia group.
Coup-imposed Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk has cast his vote alongside his wife in Kiev. To do so, he had to stand in line for 20 minutes.
“We’re going to have a legitimately elected head of state,” Yatsenyuk told reporters.
The PM also ‘revealed’ to journalists who won his vote.
“We have a key democratic principle – the secret ballot procedure. But I’ll make no secret for whom voted: I voted for the president of Ukraine,” Yatsenyuk said.
Initially, there were 21 presidential candidates in Ukraine, but four candidates opted to withdraw from the race before the voting started, leaving 17 on the ballots. According to official data, there are 35.5 million voters in Ukraine, including the federalist eastern regions where the poll is proceeding with great difficulty.
Samples of the ballots have been published by RT correspondent Francisco Guaita.
En esta larga papeleta de 21 candidatos se vota #Odesa#Elecciones#ucraniapic.twitter.com/2pZBCsCvXv
— Francisco Guaita (@Guaitafran) May 25, 2014
Most of the large cities of the east of Ukraine, such as Donetsk, Lugansk and Slavyansk are not taking part in the presidential election “over the failure to deliver ballot papers to these areas,” Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission spokesman Konstantin Khivrenko said on Sunday as quoted by ITAR-TASS.
Confiscated ballot boxes outside separatist-occupied #Donetsk regional state admin marked with "trash." #UkraineVotespic.twitter.com/VWCjkEKKva
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 25, 2014
RT Spanish correspondent Francisco Guaita reports that after three hours of the election, 10 percent of have cast their votes. In Ukraine’s western Lvov Region, 10 percent of the voters cast their ballots in the very first hour of the poll.
According to reports, 10% of voters have already voted in #Lviv.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) May 25, 2014
Ukrainian media reports that prisoners are voting as well. 184 polling stations were set up for them across Ukraine.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) May 25, 2014
Ukraine’s ‘Opora’ (Pillar) civil group has registered 360 violations during first hours of presidential, and in some cases mayoral, elections in Ukraine. Most commonly the registered breaches of election legislation concern violations on election propaganda, the ballot casting process, bribery and obstruction of the conduct of an election campaign. Most of violations (49 cases) have been registered in the Kiev metropolitan area.
In #Kiev, some people are saying that they can't find themselves in the register.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) May 25, 2014
Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is currently observing the presidential elections in Ukraine, has visited a polling station in the downtown area of the capital, Kiev, saying the ongoing election might become the most important in Ukraine’s history, ITAR-TASS reported.
I spent the morning observing polling stations with @NDI as #UkraineVotes. pic.twitter.com/wJAS4uwWnK
— Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) May 25, 2014
A polling station was burnt down in the village of Artemovka, Donetsk Region, last night. Distribution of leaflets calling not to take part in presidential election has been recorded in the Nikolaev Region.
Polling stations of #Donetsk and #Gorlovka are closed. In #Severodonetsk they are not operational. Ballot papers were not provided.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) May 25, 2014
Over 82,000 law enforcement officers are ensuring order at nearly 29,000 polling stations that opened on Sunday morning in Ukraine, reports the Central Electoral Commission.
The head of Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine reports that the elections’ electronic tallying system has been repaired after the hacker attack that took place on May 22. It is now functioning properly, Mikhail Okhendovsky said.
The head of Ukraine’s Ministry of Interior Arsen Avakov has claimed on his Facebook page that polling stations opened in both Donetsk and Lugansk regions. At the same time journalists of ‘Donbass News’ media outlet maintain that all ballot stations in Donetsk are closed and published photos of closed stations as proofю
Journalists inform that all in all 426 polling stations out of total 2,430 in Donetsk Region are operable.
Ukrainian media suggests that 426 out of 2430 polling stations are open in the #Donetsk REGION.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) May 25, 2014
Unidentified troublemakers threw several Molotov’s cocktails at a polling station housed in a local school in the regional center of Kherson last night. Staff members of the station are doing their best to restore the premises to prevent disruption of the vote.
Ukraine’s Central Election Commission reports that in the city of Donetsk not one of the city’s 2,510 polling stations opened this Sunday. The same was noted for 1,483 polling stations in the city of Lugansk. Though presidential elections are underway in a number of towns in the two regions, most of the stations never opened for various reasons, including a lack of ballot papers and ballot boxes, failure to form election committees or inoperability of some polling stations due to various reasons.
The head of the OSCE mission in Ukraine, Ilkka Kanerva, a member of the Finnish Parliament, told national Yle TV channel that polling in the east of Ukraine is not likely to be conducted in a peaceful atmosphere.
“There are preconditions to expect that elections in Donetsk and Lugansk Regions will proceed by the rules,” Kanerva said.
The OSCE observers that will monitor the election in Ukraine will not visit polling stations in the de facto detached Donetsk and Lugansk Regions, which have refused to participate in electing a new Ukrainian president. The OSCE mission consisting of 116 observers will be monitoring the election process in major Ukrainian cities: the capital Kiev, Cherkassy, Khmelnitsky, Odessa, Rovno, Vinnitsa and others. Overall there are over 1,200 international observers from 47 countries monitoring the presidential election in Ukraine.
Three major Ukrainian sociological centers are planning to conduct exit-polls at 400 selected ballot stations. They will question 45 voters at each station about the choice they made, compiling a representative sample of 17,000 electors. It is expected that the statistical error will not exceed 2.5 percent.
The voting is being held amid ongoing military operations in the south-eastern Donetsk and Lugansk Regions, which have already rejected participation in the election.
The counting of votes will take more time than usual due to an elleged 'cyber-attack', which totally disabled the electronic counting system.