In a historic vote, Ukrainians headed to the polls Sunday to cast their ballots in the first parliamentary election since the revolution that swept the country nearly a year ago.
The so-called “trash bucket challenge” set the stage. For weeks, angry mobs across the country could be seen throwing politicians they said were corrupt into dumpsters. The goal? (Video via YouTube /Васильев Дмитрий Валерьевич)
Scare off candidates loyal to Ukraine’s ousted president Viktor Yanukovych.
The country’s current president Petro Poroshenko is also hoping to clean house in a different way. He's promised "an entirely new parliament" — one that will replace those Yanukovych loyalists with a pro-Western majority in the parliament. (Video via BBC)
But even that may not be enough to ensure the stability and reforms the former businessman turned politician promised when he was elected five months ago.
As Ukraine expert Andrew Wilson writes for the BBC: “The new parliament may be more patriotic but, with so much influence from the old regime and the oligarchs, may prove unable to agree and drive forward the reform agenda the country so badly needs.”
Complicating things — about five million Ukrainians were unable to vote Sunday. Voting was barred on the Crimean Peninsula, the region annexed by Russia in March. (Video viaUkraine Today)
Same went for parts of the country’s east, where pro-Russian separatists are in control. Fighting in the region has killed about 3,700 people and displaced more than one million in the past year. (Video via YouTube / LB ua)
While Poroshenko’s party is expected to take away the most seats, it will likely fall short of a clear majority and will have to form a coalition with another party.
This video includes images from Getty Images.
