PETRO POROSHENKO, a billionaire who made his fortune from chocolates, is so far ahead in the polls that he may win Ukraine’s presidency on May 25th without a run-off. If he becomes the first elected official since the flight of Viktor Yanukovych on February 21st, his hardest task will be to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine. But few easterners, whether pro- or anti-Ukraine, will vote for him.Indeed, the question in Donetsk and Luhansk, where separatists have seized control of many buildings and gunmen are trying to impose the authority of two self-proclaimed republics, is how many people will be able to vote at all. The premises of some election commissions have been attacked, some officials abducted and shot, and some commissions have collapsed because their members are terrified or support the separatists. Rebels have also seized control of many voters’ rolls and stamps used to validate results. Denis Pushilin, their leader in Donetsk, says people cannot vote for the president of a “neighbouring state”.Yet the Ukrainian authorities say they are determined that all polling stations will open, even if not in their normal places. If that happens…
PETRO POROSHENKO, a billionaire who made his fortune from chocolates, is so far ahead in the polls that he may win Ukraine’s presidency on May 25th without a run-off. If he becomes the first elected official since the flight of Viktor Yanukovych on February 21st, his hardest task will be to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine. But few easterners, whether pro- or anti-Ukraine, will vote for him.Indeed, the question in Donetsk and Luhansk, where separatists have seized control of many buildings and gunmen are trying to impose the authority of two self-proclaimed republics, is how many people will be able to vote at all. The premises of some election commissions have been attacked, some officials abducted and shot, and some commissions have collapsed because their members are terrified or support the separatists. Rebels have also seized control of many voters’ rolls and stamps used to validate results. Denis Pushilin, their leader in Donetsk, says people cannot vote for the president of a “neighbouring state”.Yet the Ukrainian authorities say they are determined that all polling stations will open, even if not in their normal places. If that happens…
