№ 4 - 2001
Tolpygo A.K.
Ukrainian Elections: Candidate and Voter

Ukraine’s electoral process is investigated in the article. It is mainly the 1999 presidentials that are analyzed, though the results of previous presidential campaigns are considered, too. The author demonstrates that the voters’ choice noticeably correlates with their political and (to a much lesser degree) economic views, but is not determined by either of them. A no less substantial determinative factor is the attitude towards the system: thus, a right oppositionist may give his vote for a left (but, provided, oppositional) candidate. According to the author’s conclusion, one of particular features of Ukrainian political life consists in that candidates are as ignorant of their voters as voters of their candidates.