Ukraine and Russia Conflict News: Exit Polls Show Increasing Support for President Petro Poroshenko, Pro-Western Groups
Exit polls show that President Petro Poroshenko's political bloc, along with other pro-Europe groups, took a decisive lead in the elections Sunday.
Voters cast their ballots to fill the Ukrainian Parliament in the first election since the revolution in February, which turned the country into turmoil with pro-Russian rebels, BBC reported.
Voters in those affected regions were not seen taking part in the election -- including about 1.8 million in Crimea, which was taken by Russia in March. The pro-Russian rebels in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions intend to hold their own election next month.
For the first time since the country's independence in 1991, parties like the former President Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions and the Communist Party have been outvoted.
Voice of America reported that national exit poll numbers show 23 percent of votes supported the Petro Poroshenko bloc. By comparison, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk's People's Front received 21.3 percent of the vote and Self-Help received 13.2 percent.
Two other exit polls revealed similar results.
The Communist Party received less than 3 percent of the votes, and the total turnout at the election sites is estimated at 51 percent.
Having a majority in Parliament will help Poroshenko address the issues with the rebels and pursue peace in the country.
The change in political leanings will also affect economic reforms in the country.
Poroshenko called the results from the exit polls "a democratic, reformist pro-Ukrainian and pro-European majority."
Since the separatist conflict began earlier this year in eastern Ukraine, at least 3,700 people have been killed.
Moscow is accused by Kiev of instigating the conflict in order to destabilize Ukraine, but Russia denies that is the case.
If that was the intention, it is partially succeeding. Ukraine's economy is destabilizing and the GDP is forecast to fall between 7-10 percent this year, BBC reported.
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