Ukraine Votes for Parliament: First Time since Ouster of Kremlin-Friendly President

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.

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. 

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UPDATE!

Exit Polls Suggest, Pro-Western Parties will dominate Ukraine's Parliament

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