Presidential campaign starts in Ukraine

KIEV: Campaigning began for a key presidential vote in Ukraine on Monday with President Petro Poroshenko facing an uphill re-election battle among voters disillusioned with corruption and the slow pace of reforms. Poroshenko, whose government is locked in a conflict with Moscow-backed insurgents in the industrial east, trails two-time ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the latest opinion polls. Voting will take place on March 31, with a second round three weeks later if no candidate takes more than 50 percent. Poroshenko, a 53-year-old chocolate tycoon, sailed to victory in a May 2014 election after a popular uprising ousted the Moscow-backed regime of Viktor Yanukovich. He promised to pivot the ex-Soviet country of nearly 45 million people towards the West and has sought to push through ambitious reforms. But critics say the economy is in tatters, corruption is rampant and Poroshenko has done little to rein in fellow oligarchs. One poll this week showed 16.1 percent of expected voters planning to vote for Tymoshenko, ahead of Poroshenko with 13.8 percent.