Farcical Ukraine Runoff Presidential Election
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
Ahead of the April 21 runoff, the winner is clear – imperial USA, controlling Ukraine as a vassal state no matter who’s “elected” president on Sunday.
According to a KIIS research poll published Tuesday, comedian/entertainer Vladimir Zelensky is favored over US-anointed incumbent Petro Poroshenko by a 72.2 – 25.2% margin.
A poll released last week by Reiting research had Zelensky ahead of Poroshenko by 61 – 24%. In March 31 round one voting with 39 candidates on the ballot, Zelensky lead runner-up Poroshenko by 30 – 16.5% – a near two-to-one margin.
The incumbent is overwhelmingly despised by most Ukrainians, his pre-election approval rating in single-digits. Suspected election-rigging got him finishing second to meet Zelensky in Sunday’s runoff.
Elections the way they should be would have the political newcomer winning by a landslide. In Nazi-infested Ukraine waging war on its own people in Donbass, its hugely corrupt authorities in cahoots with oligarchs, and Washington behind the scenes controlling things – anything on Sunday is possible.
Poroshenko is vulnerable. As president, he enjoys immunity from prosecution. If defeated in Sunday’s runoff, he could be held accountable for corruption and other criminality.
He may try anything to stay in office. Ahead of the March 31 vote, he ordered Ukrainian security services and police to patrol streets and seize control of polling stations on the phony pretext of “protect(ing) the elections.”
Brookings nonresident foreign policy senior fellow Steven Pifer put out a propaganda piece on Ukraine on what he called key things to know about Sunday’s election, saying:
“Ukraine pulled off the March 31 election with no major hitch. Voting and ballot-counting proceeded smoothly.”
He ignored accusations of election-rigging to assure Poroshenko survived to runoff voting.
He lied saying “(t)he fact that Ukraine held a free, competitive presidential election should come as no surprise.” Nothing in fascist Ukraine is free, fair and just.
He said “(b)arring a miracle, it will be president Zelensky” after Sunday’s election – true enough, provided the Trump regime wants things to turn out this way, he failed to explain.
Pifer lied claiming “Poroshenko deserves credit for overseeing some impressive reforms, and he has had to cope with a low-intensity war with Russia.”
He’s a US-anointed fascist despot. Accusations of “Russian aggression” persist despite not a shred of evidence supporting them in Ukraine or anywhere else – a US/NATO/Israeli specialty, not how the Russian Federation operates.
Ukraine’s economy isn’t “under-performing.” It’s disastrous for its ordinary people, suffering hugely under despotic rule.
The NYT published a Reuters piece, saying Poroshenko showed up last Sunday in Kiev’s soccer stadium “(f)lanked by rock musicians wearing yellow overalls and black t-shirts with skulls on them,” adding:
He “rebooted his campaign after Zelenskiy won nearly twice as many votes as him in the first round of the election on March 31, reaching out especially to younger voters disillusioned with corruption,” war in Donbass, dismal economic conditions, and repression of regime critics.
Ahead of Sunday’s runoff, he called Zelensky “a buffoonish populist,” adding:
“First of all, some people are disappointed. And we should open their heart. We should knock on their doors. We should deliver the information that ‘look, we hear what you mean. We understand what you need.’ ”
“Don’t believe populists. Don’t believe in the simple decision to the complicated question. May I remind you, we are the country in a state of war” ordinary Ukrainians want ended.
Parents want their military-aged sons free from conscription. They don’t want them sent to fight fellow Ukrainians in the country’s southeast. They want decent jobs, a living wage, and governance serving everyone equitably.
They oppose fascist repression. Under a free, fair and open process, Poroshenko has no chance to win.
In Ukraine and countless other countries, what matters is who controls the electoral process and counts the votes, not who goes to polling stations to cast them.
Given possible election-rigging, Sunday’s outcome could go either way.
VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home – Stephen Lendman). Contact at [email protected].
My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."
