KIEV — Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych is favored to beat Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a runoff for president, according to opinion polls, although a third of voters have yet to decide who to elect.
Ukraine holds a presidential election on Jan. 17. No contestant is expected to win the first round outright, but Yanukovych and Tymoshenko are widely seen as likely to face each other in a Feb. 7 runoff.
Foreign investors hope the election will end squabbling between the president, prime minister and the parliament that has paralyzed vital decision-making in a country that has been hit hard by the global recession.
Figures published from two surveys, which questioned about 2,000 people each, showed an advantage for Yanukovych.
In one survey, by the Razumkov Center, 40.5 percent said they would vote for Yanukovych in a second-round clash, against 33.3 percent for Tymoshenko.
The All-Ukrainian Sociological Service showed a 38.5 percent to 30.6 percent split in Yanukovych’s favor.
“It is most probable that Yanukovych will become president, but it is far from 100 percent because first round results and events that might occur will influence the choice,” said Andriy Bychenko of the Razumkov Center.
In an interview published Wednesday in Kommersant, Yanukovych said he would not want Tymoshenko as his prime minister.
“She has her own program, and I do not think that she would agree to implement somebody else’s. And what is even more important, even if she agrees, I won’t believe her,” Yanukovych said.
“President [Viktor] Yushchenko believed her twice, and she deceived him,” he said. “I don’t, and can’t, have any confidence in Tymoshenko.”
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