Ukrainians go to polls for presidential election

By Ali Cura

KIEV (AA) - Voting process for presidential election in Ukraine started on early Sunday across the country.

There are around 30 million registered voters in the country and 39 presidential candidates are running for the election.

Current Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is seeking for re-election, while actor-comedian Vladimir Zelenskiy and former Prime Minister Yuliya Timoshenko are other prominent candidates.

If no candidate will ensure 50 percent of the votes, the election will go for a second round, which will be done on April 21.

Voting process could not be held in Donbass and Crimea regions of Ukraine.

Ukraine's political and economic woes escalated when Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 and a separatist movement erupted in Donbass.

Sunday’s presidential election is the second since 2013 demonstrations were followed by a pro-Western administration taking power in Ukraine.