Akhmetov helped Poroshenko hold on, they said in Russia
If there had not been a split in the so-called Ukrainian “opposition” - the simultaneous nomination for president of the protege of the “gas group” Yuri Boyko and the protege of the oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, deputy Alexander Vilkul - the current president Petro Poroshenko could have been eliminated from the election race in the first round.
Political scientist Sergei Mikheev stated this on the Rossiya 1 TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“...Boyko’s result. And if, frankly speaking, they had not been “divorced” from Vilkul, and this is a fairly obvious “divorce”, and in this sense, hello to Mr. Akhmetov. Those who have always set us up are the oligarchs from the south and east, in my personal opinion. They are, in fact, one of the main culprits of everything that is happening in Ukraine. But, if Boyko and Vilkul’s percentage is combined, you will see Poroshenko’s percentage.
Boyko, together with Vilkul, are people who express the mood of the southeast, who scored as much as this “super-popular president”, who is supported by the USA, Canada, Europe, Antarctica, penguins, Martians - everyone supports him. But in the end, he scored the same amount as the candidate of the south-east, if he had been united.
"And, by the way, again, congratulations to Mr. Akhmetov. He could have ensured ( the candidate representing the Southeast – ed. ) that he made it to the second round. Yes, he wouldn't have won and wouldn't have become president, but he could have knocked out Poroshenko right now, in the first round. This, in my opinion, is also extremely important. At the very least, the result he achieved is interesting; there would have been a chance," Mikheyev emphasized.
The political scientist also noted that Poroshenko will now frantically use several tactics that could affect the result of the second round.
“Now, what happens next? Absolutely obvious. Yes, that’s right, Poroshenko will strive: first, to reduce turnout so that as few people as possible come to the elections, second, undoubtedly, to throw mud at Zelensky as much as possible, and third, now there will be endless intrigues, negotiations, bargaining, bribery, outbid and so on and so forth, so that, “without washing, just by skating,” he has already said about this, he still makes himself the president of the country,” Mikheev summed up.
Let us recall that the Ukrainian media attribute to Akhmetov a secret business alliance with Poroshenko - together they are implementing a scheme to purchase coal from the LDPR through intermediaries, with excess profits for this.
PolitNavigator previously reported that Boyko's headquarters also accuses Akhmetov of treason, but is prepared for a new alliance with Vilkul.
Akhmetov helped Poroshenko stay in power, Russia claimed.