Holos is a brand-new political party, and it tallied only 6.3 percent of the vote, according to initial exit polls. But it's shaping up to be a potential kingmaker, in terms of building coalitions in parliament, and shaping a new government.
Crimeans wanting to vote in today's parliamentary election had to endure the inconvenience of a lengthy journey onto the Ukrainian mainland. That includes traversing the border checkpoints that now separate the Russian-occupied Black Sea peninsula from the mainland. One woman, who gave her name as Lyudmila, said it was worth the effort and that she was voting "for Ukraine's future, for a future in the European Union, for Ukraine's future in NATO, for the emancipation of Crimea, for the victory of Ukraine."
- By RFE/RL
Anecdotal evidence from reporters around Ukraine suggested a low turnout among voters in today's parliamentary election. The latest figures from the Central Election Commission, however, show 50.09 percent of voters casting ballots, as of 9 p.m. local time. That's in the same ballpark as the last parliamentary election in 2014, when 52.42 percent of voters cast ballots.
This is how supporters of Holos reacted after exit polls showed the upstart political party on track to get 6.3 percent of the vote in today's Ukrainian election. That means the party will officially enter parliament, and it's widely predicted to be a potential coalition partner with the Servant Of The People party, of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
- By Current Time
Current Time is holding a special election broadcast of the Ukrainian parliamentary election, with live feeds from all the parties' headquarters in Kyiv. Russian translation is provided for the speeches in Ukrainian.
Low turnout is being reported throughout Ukraine today, including the western Lviv region. RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service interviewed voters to try and understand what's behind the lack of enthusiasm.
This 94-year-old woman had a heck of a time trying to vote at her local precinct in the western city of Lviv. After a confrontation stretching over four hours, the woman got so fed up that she ended up ripping apart her ballot and then started eating it, according to the TV channel Hromadske.