The renowned Ukrainian musician and activist Svyatoslav Vakarchuk disappointed many by not involving himself more in the presidential election. It remains to be seen if he will have an impact on the next elections.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy won the Ukrainian presidency with an unprecedented percentage of the democratic vote. Though he certainly maintains a base of loyal supporters, polls suggest that many second-round votes for Zelenskiy were actually protest votes against the incumbent President Petro Poroshenko.

What do the trends in the first round of the Ukrainian presidential election tell us about how the second round will look like? With less than a week left to the final contest, both candidates seem intent on continuing to discredit each other.

Just days before the first round of the Ukrainian presidential election scheduled for Sunday March 31st, the preferences of voters seem to be further consolidating.

Given the new trends of the Ukrainian presidential campaign and the unexpected leadership of the candidate-comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the polls, one can well expect the consolidation of the political heavyweights Yulia Tymoshenko and Petro Poroshenko to counter a non-system player who is nevertheless capable of burying their chances of political success in the upcoming elections.

Well-known Ukrainian showman and recently-confirmed presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy unexpectedly leads in the public support polls. His alternative candidacy is revealing of several challenges facing Ukraine today.