Private surveys that opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezhnyak claims to have viewed indicate the former comedian has no chance of securing a second term in office<\/p>\n
A corruption\u00a0scandal involving\u00a0a long-time ally of Vladimir Zelensky\u00a0that has forced the resignations of two government ministers has dealt a major blow to the Ukrainian leader\u2019s chances of being re-elected, opposition MP Yaroslav Zhelezhnyak has claimed, citing private internal polling.
\nTimur Mindich was charged by the Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) over an energy sector kickback scheme allegedly involving up to $100 million. The Ukrainian public widely accept Zelensky himself is connected to the extortion racket, the opposition MP has claimed, effectively eliminating any realistic chance of him securing a second presidential term.
\nSpeaking on his online program on Monday, Zhelezhnyak said private surveys he reviewed show Zelensky\u2019s first-round support dropping below 20%. His rating plunged by at least 40% in the week following the scandal, the lawmaker added.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Behind the Ukranian golden toilet: There\u2019s only one way to fix the disease of this state<\/p>\n
Zelensky barely registers as a fallback option among voters \u2013 meaning that those who back another candidate in a hypothetical first round do not consider supporting him in a run-off, according to Zhelezhnyak.
\nThe trajectory is \u201cvery bad, most likely politically fatal\u201d for Zelensky. \u201cThis scandal has closed the road for a second term…\u201d
\nZelensky has refused to transfer or renew his presidential mandate since his term expired last year, citing martial law in the country. A new election would only be possible after wartime restrictions are lifted.
\nMindich, once a business partner of Zelensky during his entertainment career, is said by Ukrainian media to have risen to oligarch status during Zelensky\u2019s term in office. The case has prompted speculation that Mindich may be serving as a convenient \u201cfall guy\u201d rather than being the true architect of the alleged scheme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Private surveys that opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezhnyak claims to have viewed indicate the former comedian has no chance of securing a second term in office A corruption\u00a0scandal involving\u00a0a long-time ally…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22694,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t