The leader of the Batkivshchyna Party, Yulia Tymoshenko will not moderate debates between Volodymyr Zelensky and Petro Poroshenko. This was stated by Dmitry Razumkov, adviser of the Zelensky’s campaign headquarters.
“She would be an independent arbiter, as she would criticize both candidates. If she agreed, then at the stadium would be represented 60% of the vote. That is, it would be a real representation of more than half of the country. But it happened as it happened,” Razumkov said.
He added that the moderator’s place would be offered to anyone else.
“This should be an independent referee who will be neutral to both teams,” the adviser said.
Later, Razumkov in his commentary to “Hromadsky” stated that he was misunderstood and Tymoshenko simply did not respond to the proposal to become an arbitrator at the Zelensky and Poroshenko debates.
When asked whether the absence of a response from Tymoshenko means that she will definitely not be able to take part in the debate, Razumkov said: “I am not ready to comment on this. I am ready to comment that I would be sorry if this does not happen. Let’s just say: time is over, but we have not received an answer yet. If she agrees, perhaps… Again, I think that representatives of the teams will be able to discuss this among themselves, depending on whether this answer is or not. ”
Recall, on April 3, Zelensky suggested Poroshenko hold a debate before the second round of elections. One of the conditions for their conduct, he called the fact that they were held at the NSC Olimpiyskiy, and the other was the passage of a physical examination. In response, Poroshenko published a video message in which he said that he agreed to the debate at the stadium.
Zelensky also offered Yulia Tymoshenko “to become a guarantor of fair rules and equal opportunities in debates” and moderate his debates with Poroshenko. Yulia Vladimirovna, in turn, promised to think over the proposal.
At the same time, the National Public TV and Radio Company of Ukraine stated that the debates between presidential candidates Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelensky, which will be broadcast on NSTU on April 19, will be led by journalists Pavel Kazarin and Miroslav Barchuk.