Ukranians prepare for presidential elections

KIEV, Ukraine

Some 30 million Ukrainians are set to vote in Sunday's presidential election in a nation which has faced political turmoil since 2014.

Roughly 5 million Ukrainian citizens living in restive Donbass, in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, and Russian-annexed Crimea will not be able to cast ballots.

If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round, the top two will proceed to a second round.

According to the latest polls, actor-comedian Vladimir Zelenskiy is getting considerable support from voters, with independent pollster Rating Group giving him 26.6 percent.

Current President Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko both rank second, polling at around 17 percent.

Ukraine's political and economic woes escalated when Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 and a separatist movement erupted in Donbass.

Sunday’s presidential selection will be the second since 2013 demonstrations were followed by a pro-Western administration taking power.

The presidential polls are expected to go to the second round.

Even if Zelenskiy comes in first in round one, he might not be able to top the 50 percent threshold, and in round two, an experienced candidate might defeat him, as Zelenskiy lacks this background.

The result of the presidential election is expected to affect parliamentary polls set for this fall.

Even if Zelenskiy does not win the presidency, his party, Servant of the People, is likely to get into parliament, according to the polls.

Poroshenko's bloc, which held a majority of parliament in a difficult period in which Ukraine lost Crimea and the country's east was dominated by separatists, is reportedly not as strong as it once was.

According to the polls, Tymoshenko's Fatherland Party might grow stronger in parliament in opposition.

Ukraine has been wracked by conflict in its eastern regions since March 2014, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Fighting with separatists in the Donbass area has led to more than 10,000 deaths, according to the UN.

Russia's seizure of Ukrainian sailors last November escalated regional conflicts.

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas.