Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko delivers a speech during a ceremony to enthrone Metropolitan Epifaniy, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in Kiev on February 3 [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]
Leonid Ragozin, Al Jazeera: Can Petro Poroshenko win Ukraine's presidential race?
Ukraine's incumbent is lagging behind in polls, but he still has time to manipulate political events to his advantage.
In Ukraine, incumbents tend to be underdogs in presidential races. Never in the 21st century has an acting Ukrainian president, or his appointee, been a frontrunner in a presidential election and, in fact, in the case of former President Viktor Yanukovych, the incumbent never even made it to the polls, having been toppled by a popular revolution.
But President Petro Poroshenko seems dead set on breaking this pattern and winning a re-election. Just seven months ago, he was lagging far behind former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and a few more candidates in the polls, but by the end of 2018 he was already breathing down her neck. January polls pushed both him and Tymoshenko back, elevating TV comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the status of the frontrunner. But, given his ability to shape the political agenda, Poroshenko still has a chance, if the stars align the right way.
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WNU Editor: The current front runner is Volodymyr Zelensky .... A TV actor who played Ukraine's president could now become the actual president (CNBC). But from now to the day of election Ukrainian President Poroshenko can shape events to help him win. My prediction .... he will try to engineer a confrontation with Russia a week or two before the election.
