KIEV, April 1. /TASS/. The frontrunner in the first round of the Ukrainian presidential election, comedian Vladimir Zelensky, has not made any alliance deals with anyone in the run-up to the second round of the race, a spokesperson for Zelensky’s election headquarters, Dmitry Razumkov, said on Monday.
"Nothing has changed as compared with the first round. Zelensky’s team is not going to make any arrangements with anyone, we’re not going to count our chickens before they’ve hatched, or enter into some underhanded, backroom deals. This is Vladimir Alexandrovich’s position that he voiced long ago," Razumkov emphasized.
He also dismissed rumors that if Zelensky wins the election, the leader of the Batkivshchina Party, Yulia Timoshenko, could head the government.
"How can we speak about the premiership [of Yulia Timoshenko] if the premiership first of all implies an accord and coalition in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament)," he stressed. "With all due respect, Yulia Vladimirovna is short of ‘soldiers’. And the Servant of the People Party will come out in huge numbers only in autumn," he said.
Ukraine held the first round of the presidential election on Sunday. With 78.35% of the ballots counted, showman and head of the Servant of the People political party Vladimir Zelensky won 30.41% of the vote, while incumbent President Pyotr Poroshenko came in second with 16.06%. The leader of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party Yulia Timoshenko garnered 13.23%, taking third place. The runoff is scheduled for April 21.
