Ukrainians are going to the polls Sunday to cast their ballots in a snap parliamentary election that could consolidate the power of its recently elected president.
A tidal wave of popular support in April carried Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a comedian who played the president on a popular television comedy, to Ukraine’s highest office.
“By calling an early election, the new president hoped to keep the momentum of his presidential victory going,” says Agnese Ortolani of the Economist Intelligence Unit. “He is backed in this attempt by a majority of Ukrainians who view parliament as inherently corrupt and have given Mr. Zelenskiy a mandate to ‘clean up’ the political class.”
Zelenskiy’s Servant of the People Party, named after the television show, is expected to do well, but may fall short of a majority, forcing it to form a coalition.
Political analysts say the composition of the new parliament could look dramatically different with up to 70 percent of its members being new lawmakers.