Ukraine prepares to vote amid tension in east
More than 36 million citizens set to elect 450 members of parliament
KIEV
Ukrainians are preparing to vote in early general elections on Sunday as tension remains high amid continuing unrest in the east of the country.
More than 36 million Ukrainians are set to choose from 6,627 candidates and 29 parties for 450 seats in the parliament, Verkhovna Rada.
More than 2,300 observers and 500 journalists from 41 states will be in Ukraine to monitor and report on the elections on October 26, according to the Ukrainian Central Election Commission.
President Petro Poroshenko decided on August 25 to call early polls.
Crimea and the Donbas region in the east of the country will not participate.
About 3,000 Crimean citizens will travel to other regions to vote, according to Ukrainian media, and Ukrainians living abroad will be able to cast their votes in 112 polling stations in 72 states.
The last elections in Ukraine were held in October 2012, before recent dramatic events gripped the country.
Semi-autonomous Crimea unilaterally decided to join the Russian Federation in March, while thousands of people have been killed in eastern Ukraine in clashes between the Ukrainian Army and pro-Russian separatists.
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