As end of campaign nears, dissatisfied voters to choose new leaders in Ukraine

With election day fast approaching on January 17, campaigns are in full swing across Ukraine.

This election has been much anticipated in Ukraine for the last several years, mainly because the political instability in the country has led to the widespread dissatisfaction with politicians throughout the country.

Some Ukrainian even demonstrated their apathy by selling their votes on the internet.

Nevertheless, for most people this is a crucial moment for the country and voters have to take their time as they decide who will guide their country into the future. Now, in the run-up to the elections, none of the news agencies are allowed to publish opinion polls.

But according to the latest polls, published several weeks ago, Viktor Yanukovich, the leader of the opposition party – the Party of the Regions- is in the lead with about 25 to 40 per cent of the vote in the first round of the elections. He is closely followed by the current country’s Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, with 20 to 25 per cent. The current president Viktor Yushchenko is at the tail-end.

And the main intrigue is who will take third place. This will be, of course, irrelevant to the outcome as only two of the candidates will participate in the second round of elections to be held on February 7, but this will mirror the preferences of the country’s voters.

The main concern for everyone now is whether there will be protests and rallies, as in 2005, when they led to the “Orange Revolution” and Viktor Yushchenko became president.

There were about 150 Georgians aged 25 to 40 on the plane that landed in Eastern Ukraine. The group said their purpose was to observe the election.