Snap presidential elections held in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

on 25 May 2014 resulted in

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...

being elected

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

.Ukraine elections: Runners and risks

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

(22 May 2014) Originally scheduled to take place on 29 March 2015, the date was changed following the

2014 Ukrainian revolution The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,

. Poroshenko won the elections with 54.7% of the votes, enough to win in a single round. His closest competitor, Yulia Tymoshenko, emerged with 12.81% of the votes. The

Central Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

reported voter turnout over 60%, excluding the regions not under government control. Since Poroshenko obtained an absolute majority in the first round, a run-off second ballot (on 15 June 2014Ukraine talks set to open without pro-Russian separatists

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

(14 May 2014)) was unnecessary. The election was not held everywhere in Ukraine. During the

2014 Crimean crisis In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv ...

, Ukraine lost control over

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

, which was unilaterally annexed by Russia in March 2014.EU & Ukraine 17 April 2014 FACT SHEET

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defence ministry of the European Union (EU). The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is al ...

(17 April 2014) As a result, elections were not held in Crimea. Of the 2,430 planned ballot stations (in Donbas), only 426 remained open for polling. The

self-proclaimed Self-proclaimed describes a legal title that is recognized by the declaring person but not necessarily by any recognized legal authority. It can be the status of a noble title or the status of a nation. The term is used informally for anyone declari ...

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a disputed en ...

and

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

, controlling large parts of Donbas, had vowed to do everything possible to disrupt the elections on their territory. Petro Poroshenko won the presidency and served a full presidential term until

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, losing to

Volodymyr Zelensky Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

Background

Prior to the rescheduling of the election

Initially the elections were scheduled for 29 March 2015. On 7 December 2012,

Fatherland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

nominated Yulia Tymoshenko as its presidential candidate.United Opposition nominates Tymoshenko as single presidential candidate
''

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

'' (7 December 2012)Yatseniuk: Tymoshenko will be able to run for presidency in 2015
''

'' (7 December 2012) On 14 June 2013, the congress of her party approved the decision to nominate her as its candidate for the presidential election.Batkivschyna to nominate Tymoshenko for presidency, Yatseniuk heads party's political council

Interfax-Ukraine The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company publishes i ...

(14 June 2013) On 11 October 2011, a Ukrainian court found Tymoshenko guilty of

abuse of power Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

, sentenced her to seven years in jail and banned her from seeking elected office for her period of imprisonment.Ukraine ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko jailed over gas deal
BBC News (11 October 2011)Tymoshenko convicted, sentenced to 7 years in prison, ordered to pay state ,8 million (update)
''Kyiv Post'' (11 October 2011) Because Tymoshenko was in prison during the

2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election The Ukrainian parliamentary election of 2012 took place on 28 October 2012.Arseniy Yatsenyuk Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk ( uk, Арсеній Петрович Яценюк ; born 22 May 1974) is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine twice – from 27 February 2014 to 27 November 2014 and f ...

headed the election list of

.Список депутатів нової Верховної Ради
''

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...

'' (11 November 2012) Tymoshenko remained in prison until 22 February 2014, after parliament voted for her release and removal of her criminal record, allowing her to compete for elected office once again.Ukraine crisis timeline

In May 2013,

, UDAR, and Svoboda vowed to coordinate their actions during the presidential campaign, and promised "to support the candidate from among these parties who wins a place in the run-off election".Batkivschyna, UDAR, Svoboda to coordinate their actions at presidential election

(16 May 2013) If the election format were to change to a single round, the three parties vowed to agree on a single candidate. On 24 October 2013, the leaderQ&A:Ukrainian parliamentary election

(23 October 2012) of UDAR,

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko says intends to run for president in Ukraine

(24 October 2013)
Parliament passes law that could prevent Klitschko from running for president

(24 October 2013) Experts and lawyers argued that it is unclear if Klitschko could take part. Under Ukrainian law a presidential candidate must have had his residence in Ukraine for the past ten years prior to election day. Klitschko has lived for many years in both

and Germany, where, according to media reports, he has a residence permit. Klitschko confirmed on 28 February 2014 that he would take part in the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election. However, on 29 March, he withdrew from the race for the presidency, simultaneously pledging his support for

. Former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

, prior to his dismissal and subsequent flight from the country (see below), was considered likely to run for his second and final term.Regions Party is hoping for Yanukovych's reelection as president

(1 February 2013)
Analysts: Yanukovych beginning his presidential campaign, alarm clock set for March 2015

(1 March 2013)
No alternative to Yanukovych, Ukraine to be stable for 7 more years, says Azarov

(14 June 2013) But, as of 19 December 2013, he had made no final decision on this.Yanukovych vows not to run in 2015 presidential elections if his rating is low

(19 December 2013) On 19 December 2013, Yanukovych alluded to not participating when he stated "If, theoretically speaking, my rating is low and has no prospects, I won't hinder the country's development and movement ahead".

Early 2014 elections

Scheduling

On 21 November 2013, the Ukrainian Second Azarov Government suspended

preparations ''Preparations'' is a studio album by Prefuse 73 Guillermo Scott Herren is an American producer who has been based in Atlanta, Barcelona and New York City. Herren releases music under the aliases Prefuse 73, Delarosa & Asora, Ahmad Szabo, a ...

for signing an

association agreement A European Union Association Agreement or simply Association Agreement (AA) is a treaty between the European Union (EU), its Member States and a non-EU country that creates a framework for co-operation between them. Areas frequently covered by su ...

with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. The decision to postpone the signing of the association agreement led to massive protests across Ukraine.
Ukraine police dismantle Kiev protest camps

(9 December 2013) These led to the removal of President

and his government by the parliament in February, as part of the

2014 Ukrainian revolution The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,

, during which Yanukovych fled the country to Russia. On 22 February 2014, the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

voted 328–0 to dismiss Yanukovych as president.
government issues decree to suspend preparations for signing of association agreement with EU

(21 November 2013)
Rada votes down all bills on allowing Tymoshenko's medical treatment abroad

(21 November 2013)

Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov ( uk, Олександр Валентинович Турчинов; born 31 March 1964) is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National Secu ...

, deputy chairman of

, who had been appointed as

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Голова Верховної Ради України, Holova Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy) is the presiding officer of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's unicameral parliament. The chairman presides ...

earlier that day, was named acting

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, and, due to Yanukovych's deposition, acting president, until new elections could be held. In a press conference in the Russian city of

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the Eas ...

on 28 February, Yanukovych stated that he would not take part in the elections, stating that "I believe they are unlawful, and I will not take part in them".Yanukovych: Presidential elections slated for May 25 unlawful, I won't run

(28 February 2014) It was later speculated that

Serhiy Tihipko Serhiy Leonidovych Tihipko ( uk, Сергій Леонідович Тiгiпко; born 13 February 1960) is a Ukrainian politician and finance specialist who was Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine. Tihipko was Minister of Economics in 2000 and subse ...

would be the presidential candidate of the

Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of U ...

, Yanukovych's former party. The party's nomination went to

Mykhailo Dobkin Mykhailo Markovych Dobkinrussian: Михаил Маркович Добкин, translit=Mikhail Markovich Dobkin (born 26 January 1970) is a Ukrainian politician, former governor of Kharkiv Oblast, former mayor of Kharkiv,

, however, and Tihipko entered the elections as an independent candidate. Dobkin was amongst the persons wanted by the (then new) Yatsenyuk Government to be sent for trial at the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to pro ...

. During the

and Russian military intervention, Ukraine lost control over the

, which was unilaterally

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by Russia in March 2014. As a result, elections were not held in the Crimea, but Ukrainians who had kept their

Ukrainian citizenship Ukrainian nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds nationality of Ukraine. The primary law governing these requirements is the law "On Citizenship of Ukraine", which came into force on 1 March 2001. Any person born to a U ...

were allowed to vote elsewhere in Ukraine.

Escalation of pro-Russian unrest

In the

Donbas The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

region of the

Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khar ...

, pro-Russian protests escalated into an armed separatist

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...

early in April 2014, when masked gunmen took control of several of the region's government buildings and towns. On 15 April 2014, Ukrainian media reported that the

General Prosecutor of Ukraine The prosecutor general of Ukraine (also procurator general of Ukraine, uk, Генеральний прокурор України) heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as the Office of the Prosecutor General ( uk, Офіс ...

had launched criminal proceedings against then-candidate Oleh Tsarov for allegedly aiding separatists and thus violating Ukraine's territorial integrity. Tsarov withdrew his candidacy on 29 April.

Serhiy Taruta Serhiy Oleksiyovych Taruta ( uk, Сергій Олексійович Тарута, rus, Сергей Алексеевич Тарута, r=Sergei Alekseyevich Taruta, born 22 July 1955 in Vynohradne, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian ...

, governor of Donetsk, has suggested a referendum, to be held on 15 June, at the same time as the potential second round of the election. The referendum would address the decentralization of political power, potentially giving regions a greater say in their own affairs, such as greater control over the taxes they levy and the power to make Russian a second official language. On 16 May 2014, the

Constitutional Court of Ukraine The Constitutional Court of Ukraine ( ua, Конституційний Суд України) is the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine interprets the Constitution of Ukraine in terms of l ...

ruled that the candidate elected as a result of the presidential election would serve a full five-year term of office.New Ukrainian president will be elected for 5-year term – Constitutional Court

(16 May 2014) Donetsk oblast election 2014 voter turnout - en 2

On 17 May 2014, the

Central Election Commission of Ukraine The Central Election Commission of Ukraine ( uk, Центральна виборча комісія України, commonly abbreviated in Ukrainian as ЦВК (''Tse-Ve-Ka''); sometimes referred to as the Central Electoral Commission of Ukrai ...

(CEC) stated that, due to "illegal actions of unknown people", it could not arrange for the "preparation and conduct of elections" in six constituencies in the

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loc ...

and

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost Adminis ...

s.Fighting rages in East Ukraine as talks continue
,

Euronews Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective. The majority of Eurone ...

(18 May 2014)
At Ukraine Peace Talks, Eastern Leaders Assail Central Government
VOA (17 May 2014)
CEC: Elections in Donetsk and Luhansk region becomes increasingly difficult

(17 May 2014) According to the CEC, members of district election commissions there had received threats to their own personal safety and to that of their families. The CEC warned that two million people in the two

oblasts An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom o ...

(provinces), about 5.6% of Ukraine's approximately 36 million eligible voters, could be deprived of their right to vote if the situation there did not improve. On 22 May, the work of eighteen of the thirty-four election commissions in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts had been stopped fully or partially by representatives of the

and

. By 23 May, this number had increased to twenty of the thirty-four. The

Committee of Voters of Ukraine The Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) ( uk, Комітет виборців України (КВУ)) is an all-Ukrainian non-government organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling diffe ...

predicted on 23 May that, due to "ongoing acts of terrorism and armed insurgency", 10% of the Ukrainian population would be unable to vote. On the same day, the leader of the Luhansk People's Republic advised citizens not to go to the polls to vote, warning of possible provocative "explosions" set by Ukrainian military.

Simultaneous mayoral elections

On 25 May 2014, 27 mayoral elections were also held, including those in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

and

2014 Kyiv local election Local elections in Kyiv for the post of Mayor and members of Kyiv City Council took place on 25 May 2014, as part of the 2014 Ukrainian local elections.sushko to compete for post of Odesa mayor

(29 March 2014)Parliament sets elections for Kyiv mayor and Kyiv City Council deputies for May 25

(25 February 2014)

Russian reaction

Initially Russia opposed rescheduling the election because the Russian government considered the removal of then President

illegal and his temporary successors an "illegitimate

junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by a ...

". But on 7 May 2014

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

stated the election would be a step "in the right direction" but that the vote would decide nothing unless the rights of "all citizens" were protected. At the

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF; russian: Петербургский международный экономический форум, ПМЭФ) is an annual Russian business event for the economic sector, which has been hel ...

on 23 May 2014, Putin appeared to further move away from Russia's initial position by announcing that Russia would respect the outcome of the elections in Ukraine and was ready to work with whoever won the presidency. The US and

vowed early May 2014 that they would impose further

sanctions against Russia Sanctions, economic or international, that have been imposed on Russia include: * International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–) ** Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, US legislation (2017) ** International sanc ...

(sanctions have been in place against Russia since the

) if it disrupted the election. However, unlike previous sanctions which were limited to individuals and companies, the third stage is set to target entire sectors of the Russian economy. Earlier the US and the EU had accused Russia of destabilising Ukraine by stoking the 2014 pro-Russian rebellion in

, a charge Russia has denied.

Electoral system

The term of office for the Ukrainian president is five years.Parliament sets parliamentary elections for October 2012, presidential elections for February 2014

(1 February 2011)Ukraine sets parliamentary vote for October 2012

(1 February 2011) If no candidate had obtained an absolute majority in the first round, then the two highest polling candidates would have contested a run-off second ballot on 15 June 2014.Q&A: Ukraine presidential election

(7 February 2010)

Information technology framework for electoral monitoring – Elections 2014

Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...

underlined the importance of Elections 2014 a new IT elections monitoring system (" uk, Вибори 2014") that allowed voters to track the progress of the elections in real time, potentially increasing transparency, and avoiding the post-election disturbances seen in prior Ukrainian elections. On 22 May 2014, three days before the election, hacker group CyberBerkut announced that it had compromised the primary servers of the Central Election Commission and stolen passwords from the servers. As well, the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukraini ...

investigated the servers and discovered malware that would have destroyed election results. On election day, authorities arrested a group of hackers with specialized equipment in Kyiv. They had been attempting to rig the election.

Candidates

21 candidates took part in the elections; seven of them had been nominated by

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

, 15 were self-nominees.Twenty-three candidates to run for Ukraine's presidency

(3 April 2014) A total of 18 candidates ran for president in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. Before 7 April 2014, four

members were running for election, but on 7 April 2014 the political council of the party expelled the presidential candidates

, Oleh Tsarov and Yuriy Boiko from the party. On 29 March a Party of Regions convention supported

's nomination as a presidential candidate.Ukraine's Party of Regions expels presidential hopefuls Tigipko, Tsariov and Boiko
,

(7 April 2014) Candidates were able to nominate themselves at the

from 25 February 2014 until 30 March 2014. The last date for registering candidates was 4 April 2014.CEC registers seven more presidential candidates, including Poroshenko, Tymoshenko

(31 March 2014) Candidates needed to submit a full package of documents and a ₴2.5 million deposit.

Registered candidates

Olha Bohomolets Olha Bohomolets ( uk, Ольга Вадимівна Богомолець, Olha Vadymivna Bohomolets, russian: Ольга Вадимовна Богомолец, Olga Vadimovna Bogomolets; born March 22, 1966) is a Ukrainian physician, singer and ...

(

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

) (supported by the

Socialist Party of Ukraine The Socialist Party of Ukraine ( uk, Соціалістична Партія України, translit=Sotsialistychna Partiia Ukrayiny, SPU) was a social democratic and democratic socialist political party in Ukraine. It was one of the oldest par ...

) *

Yuriy Boyko Yuriy Anatoliyovych Boyko ( uk, Юрій Анатолійович Бойко, russian: Ю́рий Анато́льевич Бо́йко; born 9 October 1958) is a Ukrainian politician who served as one of the Vice Prime Ministers of Ukraine bet ...

(self-nominated) *

(

) * Andriy Hrynenko (

) *

Anatoliy Hrytsenko Anatoliy Stepanovych Hrytsenko ( uk, Анатолій Степанович Гриценко; born 25 October 1957) is a Ukrainian politician, independent member of the current Ukrainian parliament, former Minister of Defence, member of the Our U ...

( Civil Position) *

Valeriy Konovalyuk Valeriy Illich Konovalyuk ( uk, Валерій Ілліч Коновалюк, born 31 August 1966 in DonetskSho ...

(

) * Vasyl Kuybida (

People's Movement of Ukraine The People's Movement of Ukraine ( uk, Народний Рух України, Narodnyi Rukh Ukrayiny) is a Ukrainian political party and first opposition party in Soviet Ukraine. Often it is simply referred to as the Movement ( uk, Рух, Ru ...

) *

Renat Kuzmin Renat Raveliyovych Kuzmin ( uk, Ренат Равелійович Кузьмін, born 12 July 1967) is First Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine (2010-2013), State Counselor of Justice 1st class, public servant 1st rank. In the 2019 Ukrainian p ...

(

) *

Oleh Lyashko Oleh Valeriiovych Liashko ( uk, Олег Валерійович Ляшко; born. 3 December 1972) is a Ukrainian politician, journalist and soldier who was a long time member of the Verkhovna Rada and leader of the Radical Party. Liashko was ...

( Radical Party) *

Mykola Malomuzh Mykola Hryhorovych Malomuzh ( uk, Микола Григорович Маломуж) (born September 23, 1955, in Zvenyhorodka Raion, Cherkasy Oblast) is a Ukrainian politician, General of the army of Ukraine. Malomuzh served as Head of the Foreig ...

(

) *

(

) (supported by UDAR) * Vadym Rabynovych (

) * Volodymyr Saranov (

) *

(self-nominated) (supported by Strong Ukraine) * Oleh Tyahnybok ( Svoboda) * Yulia Tymoshenko (

) *

Dmytro Yarosh Dmytro Anatoliyovych Yarosh ( uk, Дмитро Анатолійович Я́рош; born 30 September 1971) is a Ukrainian activist, politician, nationalist and military commander who is the main commander of the Right Sector's Ukrainian Vol ...

(

Right Sector Right Sector ( uk, Пра́вий се́ктор, ''Pravyi sektor'') is a right-wing to far-right, Ukrainian nationalist organization. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several radical nationalist orga ...

, self-nominated)

Withdrawn candidates

Before deadline

* Natalia Korolevska (

), withdrew from race on 1 May. * Oleh Tsarov (self-nominated), withdrew from race on 29 April.Ukraine's Pro-Russian Candidate Quits Presidential Race

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

(29 April 2014)

After deadline

* Zoryan Shkiryak (

), withdrew from race on 10 May. * Petro Symonenko (

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine, Abbreviation: KPU, from Ukrainian and Russian "" is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 as the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine which was banned in 1991 (accord ...

), withdrew from race on 16 May. * Oleksandr Klymenko (

Ukrainian People's Party The Ukrainian People's Party ( uk, Українська Народна Партія; ) is a political party in Ukraine, registered on Old Year's Day 1999 as the Ukrainian National Movement ( uk, Український Народний Рух; ).

), withdrew his candidacy on May 18 "to support

as the sole representative of the

national democratic This article presents the historical development and role of political parties in Ukrainian politics, and outlines more extensively the significant modern political parties since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. Overview Ukraine has a m ...

forces". *

Vasyl Tsushko Vasyl Petrovych Tsushko ( uk, Василь Петрович Цушко; born February 1, 1963, in Nadrichne, Tarutinsky Raion, Odesa Oblast) is a Ukrainian politician former Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, former Minister of Internal A ...

(

), withdrew from race on 22 May. The

was unable to remove from the ballot the names of candidates who withdrew from the race after the deadline of 1 May 2014.Simonenko left the ballot

(17 May 2014)Zoryan Shkiryak withdrew from the presidential race
Segodnya (10 May 2014)

Rejected candidates

The Central Election Commission rejected some applications for candidate registration early in the process. It refused to register O. Burnashova, V. Marynych, A. Makhlai, A. Kucheryavenko, V. Chopei, L. Rozhnova, L. Maksymenko, D. Myroshnychenko, P. Rekal, T. Onopriyuk, and Z. Abbasov. On 3 April 2014 the CEC rejected a further three candidates: a man named

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

, Evhen Terekhov, and Yuriy Ivanitsky. On 29 March 2014,

, and announced he would run for

Mayor of Kyiv The Head of Kyiv City ( uk, Київський міський голова, translit=Kyivskyi miskyi holova), unofficially and more commonly the Mayor of Kyiv ( uk, Мер Києва, translit=Mer Kyieva), is a city official elected by popular ...

in the

local election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

taking place alongside the presidential election.

Opinion polls

International observers

The

(CEC) had registered 543 international official observers on 2 May 2014.CEC registers 543 international official observers for presidential elections

(2 May 2014) On 23 May (two days before the election) this number had risen to 3,607 (CEC had completed the registration of observers on 19 May but on 23 May had allowed 823 members of the observer organization European Platform for Democratic Elections). Among others

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) dealing with the " human dimension" of security. The Office, originally named Office for ...

, OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly, the

Ukrainian World Congress Ukrainian World Congress ( uk, Світовий Конґрес Українців or ''СКУ'') is a non-profit organization, nonpartisan association, international coordination assembly of all Ukrainian public organizations in diaspora. It repre ...

and the United States sent observers. OSCE deployed 100 long-term observers and 900 short-term observers. On 9 May 2014 U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs

Victoria Nuland Victoria Jane Nuland (born July 1, 1961) is an American diplomat currently serving as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Nuland, a former member of the foreign service, served as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eur ...

stated her country would support 255 long-term and more than 3,300 short-term observers. Russia did not send observers. Other

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010 ...

members also did not send observers; because Ukraine had not sent an invitation to the CIS Election Monitoring Organisation.

Results

Petro Poroshenko won the elections with 54.7% of the votes. His closest competitor was Yulia Tymoshenko, who emerged with 12.81% of the votes. The

reported voter turnout at over 60% excluding those regions not under government control. In the

region of Ukraine only 20% of the ballot stations were open due to threats and violence by pro-Russia separatists. Of the 2,430 planned ballot stations (in Donbas) only 426 remained open for polling.Poroshenko Declares Victory in Ukraine Presidential Election

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

(25 May 2014) Exit polls had also predicted that Poroshenko won the election outright with over 55.9% of the votes,

Reactions

Despite Russia's earlier protest at rescheduling the election and the general tense relation between the countries at the time because of the annexation of Crimea and the

Russian military intervention in Ukraine The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...

recognised the vote. The leaders of the

and

, controlling large parts of the

region of

, declared that the regions had made their choice shown in the results of the status referendum of 11 May.

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

congratulated Petro Poroshenko with his victory by telephone 2 days after the election. This was also done by

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...

José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and university teacher, currently serving as non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs International. He previously served as the 11th president of the European Commis ...

and European Parliament President

Martin Schulz Martin Schulz (born 20 December 1955) is a German politician who served as Leader of the Social Democratic Party from 2017 to 2018, and was a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. Previously he was President of the European Parliam ...

and other EU leaders such as

German Chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

and

French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of the Socialist P ...

.Wall Street Journal: Merkel congratulates Ukraine's Poroshenko on election win

(27 May 2014)