Over 30% of Ukrainians would vote for Zelensky in presidential election

If presidential election was held in the near future and President Volodymyr Zelensky ran, 30.6% of Ukrainians said they would vote for him. Former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, comes in second with 29.6% support.

The results come from a December survey conducted by the Socis Center for Social and Marketing Research, Ukrinform reports.

Other candidates received the following support: 8.1% for Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense; 7.2% for former President Petro Poroshenko; 6.1% for Yulia Tymoshenko; and 5% for Dmytro Razumkov.

If the election went to a runoff between Zelensky and Zaluzhnyi, Zelensky would receive 35.8% of the vote, while Zaluzhnyi would get 64.2%.

If Zaluzhnyi does not participate in the election, Budanov would likely advance to the second round against Zelensky. In this scenario, 56.2% of respondents said they would vote for Budanov, while 43.8% would support Zelensky.

Previously, Ukrinform reported that during a press briefing, Zelensky noted that if the ratification of a peace agreement between Ukraine, the U.S., Russia, and Europe requires a nationwide referendum, the presidential election could take place simultaneously.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine