Forty-four names on the ballot: Ukraine's record presidential field
A look back at the Central Election Commission's final registration of candidates and the constitutional vote that preceded it.
How many candidates can a single presidential race hold? By 8 February 2019, Ukraine had an answer: 44. On that day the Central Election Commission completed registration and confirmed the figure, a record for the country.
The registration closed out the candidate-filing stage of the presidential election. The number set a new mark for Ukraine, and it defined the scale of the field voters would face.
The day before, on 7 February 2019, the Verkhovna Rada had adopted amendments to the Constitution. They enshrined the country's course towards full membership of the European Union and NATO.
Taken together, the two days gave the campaign a distinctive start: a constitutional commitment on foreign policy direction, followed by the confirmation of the largest slate of presidential candidates the country had seen.
