Vadym Stolar is running in Ukraine’s parliamentary election on Sunday from Kiev’s riverside Obolon district. So is Vadym Stolyar. And Vadym Stolyar.
It is a time-honored tactic in Ukraine’s shadowy political world: Find people with names similar to your opponent’s and sign them up as candidates to divert votes from baffled voters.
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Vadym Stolar's campaign tent, along with two other candidates' tents, near the Obolon subway station on Thursday. Nick Shchetko |
“It’s a dirty trick,” says Mr. Stolar, a nascent Kiev construction magnate and former parliament member. “But we’re informing voters and have even made a special booklet about my clones and how to distinguish them from me.”
Ukrainians will elect their first parliament Sunday since pro-Europe protests on Kiev’s Independence Square, known as maidan, toppled Kremlin-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych —an uprising that led neighboring Russia to annex Crimea and back a separatist revolt in Ukraine’s east.
Ukraine’s government is heralding the election as a chance for voters to continue the maidan sprit and usher in a more trustworthy, Western-oriented legislature. For President Petro Poroshenko, a strong base in the new parliament will be vital to turning around a plunging economy and ensuring any peace deal with Russia and separatist leaders sticks.
The outcome is certain to be independent Ukraine’s first overwhelmingly pro-Europe parliament, marking a shift in the political landscape of a nation long destabilized by a fault line between warring pro-Europe and pro-Russia factions.Read the rest HERE and view a related story below:
Exit Polls Suggest, Pro-Western Parties will dominate Ukraine's Parliament
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