Ukraine Presidential Election Set for January 17, 2010

Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada has scheduled the country's next presidential election for January 17, 2010. Parliament had previously scheduled the election for October 25, 2009, but President Viktor Yushchenko appealed to the Constitutional Court, which found the decision to be unconstitutional.

A recent presidential election poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology revealed the following results:

• Viktor Yanukovych (Party of Regions) - 34.7%
• Yulia Tymoshenko (Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc) - 21.5%
• Arseniy Yatseniuk (Change Front Citizens Initiative) - 17.6%

If a run-off election is required, it will most likely be held on February 7, 2010. The main question is, if a run-off is necessary, who would face off against Viktor Yanukovych? For a long time, the likely choice was Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. However, her inability to deal with Ukraine's economic crisis has significantly damaged her popularity. Meanwhile, former Rada Speaker Yatseniuk's popularity has accordingly increased.

It is unlikely that Yushchenko will gain re-election, with current popularity ratings in the low single digits and his Our Ukraine party recently withdrawing from Ukraine's ruling political coalition.