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Ukrainian presidential candidates Poroshenko, Zelensky finish debates

19 April 2019 23:41 (UTC +04:00)

Ukrainian presidential candidates Pyotr Poroshenko and Vladimir Zelensky have finished the debates at the Olympic Stadium, ONA reports citing TASS.

In his final word, Poroshenko stated that he would accept the results of the April 21 election. "On April 22, life goes on, and on April 22, we must unite to protect the country together. The most important thing is not to lose it [the country]," he said.

Poroshenko stressed the need to recover control over Crimea and Donbass and to avoid oligarchs coming into power.

For his part, Zelensky has listed his campaign promises: that all citizens must be equal before the law, and that the immunity of judges and members of parliament must be lifted. He also promised to introduce a law on the president’s impeachment, to raise the salaries of public sector workers and to improve the country’s infrastructure. "As for the roads, I have nothing to say because there aren’t any," Zelensky quipped at the end of his speech.

The ceremony ended with both candidates singing the Ukrainian national anthem along with the spectators.

Around 22,000 people attended the presidential debates held at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev on Friday evening.

The runoff of Ukraine’s presidential elections is scheduled for April 21 and will feature head of the Servant of the People party Vladimir Zelensky going up against incumbent President Pyotr Poroshenko. The first round took place on March 31 and saw Zelensky receiving 30.24% of the votes, almost twice as much as Poroshenko, who got 15.95%.