Zelenskiy Maintains Lead In Ukrainian Presidential Race 2 Weeks Before Election - Poll

Ukrainian comedian turned presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy remains a front-runner in the race with 24.9 percent support two weeks before the election, a poll published on Tuesday showed

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2019) Ukrainian comedian turned presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy remains a front-runner in the race with 24.9 percent support two weeks before the election, a poll published on Tuesday showed.

"Zelenskiy maintains lead in the electoral race by the end of the second week of March, gaining 24.9 percent support from those who intend to vote. The poll puts [Yulia] Tymoshenko in second place with 18.8 percent of votes. Incumbent President Petro Poroshenko came in third with 17.4 percent," the poll, prepared by the Ukrainian sociological group "Rating," said.

In February, a similar poll showed that Zelenskiy gained 25.1 percent support. During the first week of March Zelenskiy gained only 24.

7 percent but now this rate is increasing again.

According to the poll, Zelenskiy has strong support in the southeastern and central regions of the country while leader of Batkivshchyna party Yulia Tymoshenko and Poroshenko have broader support in the central and western regions.

The poll was conducted on March 9-15 in all regions of Ukraine, excluding the territory of Donbas, which is not controlled by Kiev, among 2,500 respondents aged 18 and over. The margin of error does not exceed 2 percent.

The presidential election in Ukraine is scheduled for March 31. The Ukrainian Election Commission has registered over 40 candidates for this year's race.