2019 Presidential Election
- The Central Election Commission counted over 99 percent of the votes. Volodymyr Zelenskiy — 30.22 percent, Petro Poroshenko — 15.95 percent. Read all updates and developments from Election Day here.
- Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who finished third with 13.39% of the vote, accepted her defeat at the March 31 presidential election but accused Poroshenko of rigging vote.
- Diaspora vote. The majority of Ukrainians abroad voted for Poroshenko. But Zelenskiy won in countries where most Ukrainian labor migrants and seasonal workers go.
- A new social media campaign under the hashtags #Хочубачитидебати (I want to see debates) and #дебати_челендж (debate challenge) calls on Zelenskiy and Poroshenko to go take part in a debate before the runoff election. In addition, a petition calling to make debates an obligatory part of the presidential election has been submitted on the parliamentary website.
In non-election news
- President Poroshenko ordered the management of Ukroboronprom, state defense holding, to take a polygraph test. The move comes after journalists uncovered an embezzlement scheme from the Ukrainian army that involved the son of Poroshenko’s top ally and sacked high-ranking defense official.
- In Odesa, officers of Moldova’s National Anti-Corruption Center arrested Moldovan Consul in Odesa, Sergiu Șeptelici, on suspicion of bribery. He was taken to Chisinau.
- In Zakarpattia, local residents protest the construction of a fence on the Ukrainian border with Romania.
- In Lviv, all supermarket chains will give up plastic bags for a day on April 9.
- In Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine’s healthcare ministry launches a measles vaccination campaign. This region in western Ukraine has the highest number of measles cases in the country: 2,778 people got sick in the first three months of this year.
Business news
- Ukraine’s state oil and gas company Naftogaz secured $1 billion in investment and loans from Chinese corporation Sinosure.
- Israeli firm Perion buys Ukrainian AI startup Captain Growth for nearly $4 million
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