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Kyiv between rounds: Zelensky and Poroshenko prepare to meet
Summary
A look back at the position of Ukraine's presidential race on 9 April 2019, with a runoff already set.
What did Ukraine's presidential race look like on 9 April 2019? The first round was over, and the contest was heading to a second vote.
The election was held on 31 March 2019. As reported at the time, Volodymyr Zelensky won the first round with 30 percent of the vote. President Petro Poroshenko came second with 15 percent. Turnout was 63 percent.
No candidate reached the share of votes required to win the presidency outright. A runoff between the top two was therefore scheduled for 21 April. There were 39 candidates on the ballot, and none secured an absolute majority.
What followed
The runoff took place on 21 April 2019, as scheduled. Later, the Central Election Commission announced that Zelensky had won the second round with 73.22 percent of the vote. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe recognised the elections as free and fair.
On 9 April, none of that was known. The matter in hand was the two-week stretch between the rounds, with a television personality holding a clear first-round lead over the incumbent president.
