The Central Election Commission has completed the registration of candidates for the post of President of Ukraine. This time 23 candidates will compete for the highest post in Ukraine. Among the applicants there are 7 official millionaires and six temporarily unemployed. The youngest candidate is Natalia Korolevksa. The oldest one is Petro Symonenko, who is running for presidential post for the fourth time. However, the reliability and transparency of income and property of some candidates may raise doubts.
The election campaign for extraordinary elections of the President of Ukraine will be the shortest in the last 23 years, and the registered candidates are already under the close oversight of the wide public. One of the first tests for openness and transparency of the candidates is publishing income declarations. According to Art. 50 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Election of the President of Ukraine", during the registration each candidate must submit a declaration of assets, incomes, expenditures and financial commitments, both personal and of their family members in the previous year
The youngest candidate for this year's elections is 38 year-old former Minister of Social Policy Natalia Korolevska. Comparing with previous presidential elections, the current Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who declined to run this year, was the youngest candidate in 2010. 61 year-old leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine Petro Symonenko is the oldest candidate and is running for the presidency for the fourth time. On the other hand, it will be the second presidential elections for Oleh Tiahnybok, Yulia Tymoshenko, Serhiy Tihipko and Anatoliy Hrytsenko.
According to published income declarations for 2013, there are six official millionaires among presidential candidates: Oleh Tihipko (263,579,662 grn.), Petro Poroshenko (51,837,681 grn.), Mykhailo Dobkin (21,095,921 grn.), Olga Bohomolets (3,311,440 grn.), Renat Kuzmin (1,312,070 grn.) and Vadym Rabinovych (1,000,000 grn.). On the other hand, both the leader of the party "Right Sector" Dmytro Yarosh and former member of the Kyiv City Council Zorian Shkiriak were temporarily unemployed and have not earned a penny during 2013. Despite such incomes, both candidates were able to pay an obligatory bail in the amount of 2.5 million grn. to the Central Election Commission. However, the source of funds for the bail may raise doubts among potential voters.
The presidential candidates also declared real estate that is owned, rented or in usage by them and members of their families. Among 23 candidates Olha Bohomolets declared the biggest amount of such property, namely 2 houses, 7 apartments and other premises with total area of 5134 m2. Next goes the member of the Party of Regions and self-proclaimed candidate Oleh Tsarov, who declared 1 residential house, 1 summer house and 7 apartments. The other interesting position is a declaration of vehicles that is owned, rented or in usage by presidential candidates and members of their families. With this regard, a self-nominated non-party candidate Volodymyr Saranov is an absolute leader, while declaring 8 cars and a boat. Next are Serhiy Tihipko and Mykhailo Dobkin with 6 declared cars.
To sum up, the issue of credibility and transparency of income and property of presidential candidates will be raised numerous times during political debates and among ordinary voters. Moreover, the problem of non-transparent financing of political parties in Ukraine is still remaining.
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