53: Chernovetsky wins first, Klitschko second round: poll

“Express Poll” results from “Ukrainian Sociology Service”(Oleksandr Vyshnyak) made public on April 2. They suggest that Chernovetsky, with 25%, would retain his seat if the election was held in one round (the system currently in place). The results also showed that support for the incumbent has doubled in the last five months (since Nov. 2007).

However, if the vote was held in two rounds, Klitschko would clobber Chernovetsky 47 to 32. Chernovetsky has the edge over five other candidates, including Oleksandrs Turchynov and Omelchenko, Mykola Katerynchuk and Yuri Lutsenko.

As for the race for 120 capital city council seats, the express poll found:

Klitschko Bloc 17.%
Chernovestky Bloc 15
Tymoshenko Bloc 14.4
Omelchenko Bloc* 7.6
Katerynchuk Bloc 4.1
Nasha-NS 3.6
Regions 2.2

Seventy percent of Kyiv-men said they will take part in the May 25 elections. More than 55% said they support the Rada’s decision to sanction the snap vote for Kyiv city council that has just completed half of its two year term. 1,000 adult Kyiv-men polled, March 22-27, +/- 3.2% Original: http://news.liga.net/news/N0816503.html

The Party of Regions is expecting to win 15% in the Kyiv Council elections, MP Boris Kolesnikov said on April 2. Regions’ dame Hanna Herman said her party will choose their candidate on April 7.

According to Ukrainian News “on March 27, Presidential Secretariat Chief Viktor Baloha called on the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense block to back Vitaliy Klitschko as a single candidate in the Kyiv mayoral elections.”

Meanwhile the Ukrayinska Narodna Partita (led by Yuri Kostenko) is considering Obolon beer magnate Oleksandr Slobodian as their man for mayor. The UNP said it will run independently in an April 2 statement.

Further to the right, the Kyiv city organization of the Svoboda Party on April 2 resolved to put forth Oleh Tiahnybok from Lviv as their man for Kyiv mayor.

Mykola Katerynchuk self-nominated on April 2.

Former environment minister Serhiy Kurykin will run for the Green Party

In other news, Volodymyr Lytvyn said he doubts two-round Kyiv mayor elections....

But don’t take my word for it! For a great election resource see Liga’s Bytva za Kyiv:
http://file.liga.net/event/18.html