Ukraine holds presidential elections
17.01.2010 16:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Presidential elections in Ukraine are under way.
This is the fifth time the country is electing a President since
gaining independence. Polling stations are open to all voters from
9:00 a.m. till 20:00 p.m.

The presidential campaign was officially launched on October 19, 2009.
The country’s Central Election Commission registered 18 out of the 65
people applying for candidacy. Among presidential contenders are the
country’s Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko and Head of the Party of
Regions Victor Yanukovich who also stood for the 2004 elections. The
country’s current leader Victor Yanukov ich is also fighting for a
second term.

Other candidates are ex-Speaker and leader of Front of Changes party
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, ex-Chairman of Ukrainian National Bank Sergey
Tigipko, as well as current Speaker Vladimir Litvin, Interfax reports.

`The presidential ballot will not be disrupted,’ Head of Ukraine’s
Central Election Commission Vladimir Shapoval told a briefing.

Under the law on Presidential elections, the President of Ukraine is
elected for the term of 5 years. For holding victory in the
presidential ballot, the contender should receive over 50% of votes.
Otherwise, the candidate with the maximum number of votes will run for
a second round due in three week’s time (February 7).

Twice winner in presidential elections in Ukraine was Leonid Kuchma.
The country’s first leader Leonid Kravchuk was elected on December 1,
1991 when Ukraine was parallelly holding an independence referendum.

The second presidential ballot was held in 1994. Presidential and
parliamentary elections were appointed after miners’ strikes, with 7
contender running for presidency. Kravchuk received 38.36% of votes in
ten first round, his chief cintender being the country’s ex-premier
Kuchma (31.17%). As a result of the second round, the acting president
received 45.6% of votes, ranking as the second candidate after Kuchma
(52.15%).

During the third elections held in 1999 there were 13 candidates
running for presidency

The fourth presidential elections were held in 2004, with 24
contenders running for the post of the country’s leader. Elections
were accompanied by mass protests on Independence Square. Considering
the electoral wrongdoings , the Supreme Court made decision on holding
repeated which resulted in the victory of Victor Yushchenko ( December
26, 2004).