President Petro Poroshenko has officially stated he would bid for a second presidential term. He said so during the speech at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv on January 29.
'The feeling of deep responsibility for the country, the contemporaries, the past and current generations made me decide to become the candidate for president of Ukraine once more', he said.
'I ask the voters for the mandate so as to guarantee the inevitability of the European and Atlantic integration; to guarantee the inevitability of our independence; to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity; to bring the beneficial peace to Ukraine; to complete the build-up of a powerful prosperous state capable of providing order, welfare and safety of every Ukrainian. Because welfare, security and order make are just as important as the army, language and faith', he said.
Earlier, the list of the registered candidates running for president in Ukraine was published. The final list of presidential candidates will appear on February 9.
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the famous Ukrainian musician and the lead singer of Okean Elzy rock band, said he would stay away from the presidential race and would not be going for this office.
Presidential elections in Ukraine are scheduled for March 31, 2019. But the election campaign has officially started on December 31, 2018. Registration of the candidates would last until February 4, 2019, and on February 9, the final list of presidential candidates will appear. The candidates would be able to withdraw his candidacy until March 7, 2019.