Ukraine's Foreign, Domestic Policy In Poroshenko's, Zelenskiy's Election Programs

Ukrainians will have to choose between the "Dreamland" and the "Great State of Free and Happy People" in an April 21 presidential election runoff, promised by presidential candidates Volodymyr Zelenskiy and incumbent President Petro Poroshenko in their election programs

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2019) Ukrainians will have to choose between the "Dreamland" and the "Great State of Free and Happy People" in an April 21 presidential election runoff, promised by presidential candidates Volodymyr Zelenskiy and incumbent President Petro Poroshenko in their election programs.

Zelenskiy emerged as the frontrunner in the first round of presidential voting on March 31 where he won over 30.24 percent of the vote against Poroshenko's 15.95 percent.

In his program, Poroshenko urges Ukrainians "not to look back at Moscow" but build their own independent state, promises to strengthen the army and use political and diplomatic tools to return Donbas to Kiev.

Meanwhile, Zelenskiy promises to build a "dreamland," where people "can start their business in an hour, get a foreign passport in 15 minutes, and vote in the elections in a second." In his "Ukraine of dreams," teachers get a real salary and corrupt officials get real sentences."

The key message of Poroshenko's program, called the "Great State of Free and Happy People," is Ukraine's own independent path, which includes the membership in the European Union and NATO.

"Over the next five years, Ukraine should become the leader of the agricultural sector in Europe, one of the five new global leaders of the IT sector, the regional leader of industrial development, the transport hub of Eastern Europe, as well as one of the 10 most visited European countries under the slogan 'Fashionable country, which is being discovered by the world,'" Poroshenko's program reads.

In Zelenskiy's program, NATO membership for Ukraine is referred to as the "guarantee of security." But, according to the presidential candidate, this question has to be resolved through a national referendum. The program does not mention European integration.

"Ukraine's way toward [membership] in NATO and other organizations is the guarantee of our security, in which I believe and which should be confirmed through the all-Ukrainian referendum," Zelenskiy's program says.

In February, the Ukrainian parliament passed constitutional change, reaffirming the nation's aspirations to join the European Union and NATO.

During his five-year presidency, Poroshenko pursued an anti-Russian policy, with the relationship between Russia and Ukraine reaching their lowest point, while Moscow has stated multiple times that it was not a party to the ongoing conflict in Donbas and wanted Ukraine to overcome the political and economic crisis.

Before the first round of the presidential election, Poroshenko tried to look as the only candidate who could "confront Russia."

Meanwhile, according to Zelenskiy's election headquarters, their candidate is not an anti-Russian candidate, but he considers the Russian authorities as enemies.

"The Russian authorities - yes. He has been quite clear about it," the representative of Zelenskiy's campaign headquarters, Dmitry Razumkov, said, adding that Zelenskiy's concerns are related to the situation with Crimea and Donbas.

At the same time, Zelenskiy is popular among the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine, as he does not hesitate to speak Russian.

In his current election program, Poroshenko promises, in case of his re-election, "to stick to the policy of restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine." He intends to return uncontrolled territories of Donbas to Kiev using "political and diplomatic tools," namely, by ensuring the unity of the pro-Ukrainian coalition, using the instrument of sanctions as well as the UN mechanism.

Zelenskiy, on his part, wants to restore peace in Ukraine by working with the guarantors of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, signed off by Ukraine, the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

"We will raise the issue of supporting Ukraine before the guarantors of the Budapest Memorandum and EU partners with the aim of ending the war, returning the temporarily occupied territories and forcing the aggressor to reimburse the harm done," Zelenskiy's election program says.

In terms of domestic politics, the candidates promise more or less the same things: to increase the level of social protection, fight corruption and to contribute to economic growth.

The main goal of Poroshenko is to fight against poverty and continue the policy of decentralization, launch an anti-corruption court and create a fund to support public initiatives.

If elected, Poroshenko would also continue providing state support to Ukrainian as the only state language, while polls show that one third of Ukraine's population supports the idea of making Russian one of Ukraine's state languages.

Zelenskiy, on his part, has proposed to solve all serious issues in referendums. He also offers to lift immunity of the president, lawmakers and judges, as well as adopt a clear impeachment procedure for the president.

Zelenskiy's election headquarters prefers to take the question of language off the table as dividing the Ukrainian people "until the war in the country ends."

The leader of the first round of the presidential election has repeatedly stated that the state language in the country should be Ukrainian, but it has to be developed by using a "carrot, not a stick."

When it comes to Ukraine's economy, Poroshenko focuses on the agriculture and IT sectors as he wants to establish new processing enterprises and develop agriculture infrastructure in Ukraine.

His program mentions "five strategic priorities" but provides practically no details on specific program of action.

In turn, Zelenskiy promises a one-time "zero declaration" for business.

"Every businessman will be able to declare and legalize his income for 5 percent. The funds will be used to reduce the tariff burden for low-income population groups ... A person accused of corruption will not be released on bail. A person convicted of corruption will face confiscation of property and the lifetime ban to hold public office," his program says.

Zelenskiy said Monday he planned to hold a debate with Poroshenko on April 19 at a stadium in Kiev.