Ukraine's ex-PM accuses incumbent president of rigging vote
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a candidate for the presidential elections, talks to the media after casting her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, March 31, 2019. Ukrainians choose from among 39 candidates for a president they hope can guide the country of more than 42 million out of troubles including endemic corruption, a seemingly intractable conflict with Russia-backed separatists in the country's east and a struggling economy. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Ukraine's former prime minister, who polled third in the nation's tight race for the presidency, claims that the incumbent president rigged the results in his favor.
Yulia Tymoshenko said at a news conference on Tuesday that President Petro Poroshenko, who finished second beating Tymoshenko by less than 2 percentage points, falsified the vote in his favor. She said, however, that she will not contest the results as she believes the courts are also controlled by the president.
With nearly 99 percent of the vote counted, comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy leads the race with 30 percent. That means that Ukraine's new president will be elected in a runoff between Zelenskiy and Poroshenko later this month.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tymoshenko was leading in the polls just a few months before the election.