Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (C) reacts surrounded by supporters at the end of a meeting in Kiev on January 29, 2019. (AFP PHOTO)

KIEV, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian actor Volodymyr Zelensky and incumbent President Petro Poroshenko have the best chances to win the first round of the country's presidential election and make it to the run-off, the government-run Ukrinform news agency said on Thursday, citing a public opinion poll.

The survey, which was carried out on March 20-26 across Ukraine, revealed that 17.8 percent of Ukrainians would support Zelensky in the first round, while 11.7 percent of respondents would vote for Poroshenko.

According to the survey, Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the Fatherland party, and Yuriy Boyko, the representative of an oppositional platform "For Life," would have 8.3 percent and 7.1 percent of voter support respectively in the first ballot.

The survey was jointly conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology and the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation.

The presidential election in Ukraine is scheduled for March 31 with the participation of 39 candidates.

If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round, two candidates with the highest number of the votes will face in the run-off on April 21.