Ukraine's election: Who are the main contenders?

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Europe

Over 35 million Ukrainians are going to the polls on Sunday to choose a president since the country's Euromaidan Revolution in 2014.

There are 39 candidates running for president. Opinion polls suggest that the outcome is unpredictable as the race among the three front-runners are close.

Those leading in the race are chocolate magnate and incumbent President Petro Poroshenko; two-time prime minister and opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko; and Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian with no political experience.

Head of the Ukrainian central election commission Tetyana Slipachuk (L) and Director of "Ukraine" printing plant Yuri Onishchenko hold a ballot paper during its presentation in Kiev on March 21, 2019. /VCG Photo‍

What's going on?

If no candidate gets an absolute majority (more than 50 percent) on Sunday, the top two will have a run-off on April 21.

Al Jazeera reported that more than 967 international observers will monitor the election process on Sunday.

Who are the main contenders?

The latest poll by SOCIS suggested that Zelensky is in the lead with 25 percent of voter support, while incumbent Poroshenko trails behind at 14.8 percent and opposition leader Tymoshenko third at 8.7 percent.

- Newcomer Zelensky

Zelensky, 41, is a relative newcomer - his closest brush with politics before his run was playing a Ukrainian president on the hit TV show "Servant of the People."

The new face is running a modern campaign relying on social media and attracting more supporters between 18 to 25 years old.

But some still worry that Zelensky's proposed program remains vague and that he lacks the political experience to represent Ukraine on the international stage.

Ukrainian comic actor and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky takes part in the shooting of the television series "Servant of the People" where he plays the role of the President of Ukraine, in Kiev on March 6, 2019. /VCG Photo

- President Poroshenko

The current President Poroshenko, 53, won nearly 55 percent of the vote in 2014's election, but this time there's no guarantee he'll win a second term.

Over the last five years, he has enhanced ties with NATO, ratified the Association Agreement with the EU, including visa-free travel for Ukrainians and established independence from Ukraine's Orthodox Church.

However, some Ukrainians have questioned Poroshenko's government as the country's economy continues to grow slowly and effective measures against corruption are still limited.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko greets his supporters during a campaign rally in the western city of Lviv on March 28, 2019. /VCG Photo

- Former PM, prisoner Tymoshenko

Tymoshenko, 58, has spent more than two years in prison under former president Victor Yanukovich on corruption charges, but she's back on the presidential election stage this year. She was defeated by Poroshenko in the 2014 race.

The two-time prime minister is famous for leading the 2004-2005 Orange Revolution.

As the leader of the opposition "Fatherland" party, she pledges to implement constitutional reform to bring the country back to a parliamentary democracy.

The veteran campaigner and once natural-gas magnate also promised to lower gas prices, boost pensions and freeze privatization of agricultural land, but critics say the former prime minister hasn't said anything new.

Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko (C) waves during a party congress in Kiev on January 22, 2019. /VCG Photo

Why does it matter?

Geographically sandwiched between Russia and Europe, Ukraine's election has attracted global attention.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had offered the country a 17.5-billion-U.S.-dollar aid package. However, Ukraine rolled back anti-corruption laws in early March, a key condition of Western aid, and put IMF aid in jeopardy.

President Poroshenko last weekend repeated Kiev's wish for NATO membership, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin warning that it would result in unspecified consequences for the bloc, calling NATO's closer ties with Ukraine irresponsible.