The team of presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky and representatives of the National TV Company of Ukraine will negotiate on the official debates until the evening of April 8, as Ukrayinska Pravda reported citing Zurab Alasania, the Chairman of the Board of the company.
“At about 4. p.m. we will have negotiations with Zelensky’s headquarters. Only the law on debates and regulation of the Central Election Commission bears some stability,” Alasania said, commenting words of Zelensky about debates at Olympic Stadium on April 19.
“Candidate Poroshenko is ready to accept all the variants; he is definitely ready to be here (in the studio of the National TV Company, - 112.international). There will be the candidates, one or two, anyway, it is time for the debates,” Alasania said.
He added that Countdown program would take place after 20 minutes of the break after the official debates and candidate Petro Poroshenko is ready to stay in the studio.
Alasania explained that the candidates will be able to talk freely during the program.
If candidates appeal to the Central Election Commission with a request to change the place of the debates in time, then they will take place, not in the studio of the National TV Company.
On April 3, Zelensky replied to the invitation and put forward his conditions. He wanted to hold debates at Olympic Stadium. Poroshenko’s team said, “the President does not perform at stadiums”. A few hours later Poroshenko changed his mind and agreed to participate in the debates.
On April 7, Poroshenko stated that he waits for Volodymyr Zelensky on April 14 at Olympic Stadium.
In his turn, Zelensky reported that he wants to hold the debates with Poroshenko on April 19 at Olympic Stadium.
According to Alasania, the official debates on April 19 should take place in the studio of the National TV Company.
The National TV Company negotiates with the representatives of both campaign headquarters.
Related video:
Let us recall that during the presidential campaign in 2014, Poroshenko himself refused from participating in the debates with another presidential aspirant Yuliya Tymoshenko, his key competitor. Poroshenko explained his unwillingness by the fact that Ukraine "is in a state of war. All people emphasize that the country needs unity. If we start quarreling now, our rivals would benefit from it."
