Despite well-grounded criticism, Chernovetsky stands a good chance of winning the race because his opponents are split, political analyst AndryYermolayev told ZIK May 23.

He pointed to a high number of undecided voters one week before the vote, with almost a third in two minds whether to cast their ballots or not. This fact may play havoc with all forecasts. “As for the mayoral elections, Chernovetsky is a hot favorite. As for the Kyiv city council elections, there are three major players – the Chernovetskybloc, the Klitschko bloc and the Yulia Tymoshenko bloc. Other blocs may clear a threshold barrier and even win a substantial number of seats – the Katerynchuk bloc, the Omelchenko bloc and the Party of Regions, the analyst said.

“The Lytvyn bloc and NUNS may also make it to the Kyiv council. After the elections, the winning party will form a majority. However, I would not risk to name the winner here. The Klitschko bloc may well become a dark horse. BYUT is widely popular, although BYUT candidate for mayor Turchynov was not, in my opinion, the best bet,” Yermolayev opined.