Kiev, Feb 29 (IANS) Ukraine’s former World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko announced Wednesday he would run for mayor of Kiev for a third time this year.
“I will participate this year in the Kiev mayoral election and in the parliamentary election. I will defend the interests of Kiev as well as other regions of Ukraine,” Klitschko was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
In his first stint at becoming mayor, in 2006, Klitschko came second to current mayor Leonid Chernovetsky and two years later finished third behind Chernovetsky and opposition politician Alexandr Turchinov.
The 40-year-old Klitschko currently heads Ukraine’s liberal Udar party, which described their candidate as a person who adheres to the European values and tries to fight corruption.
A telephone survey found voters were undecided over who their next mayor should be, with Klitschko polling nearly 26 percent support and current Chairman of the Kiev city administration Alexander Popov 23 percent.
The Ukrainian boxer won 44 of 46 fights during his career.
