[1][2] They were held ahead of schedule following a compromise between President Leonid Kravchuk and the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament.

They were the first presidential elections in the Commonwealth of Independent States in which the incumbent was defeated.

Kuchma took office on 19 July, marking the first peaceful transfer of power in Ukraine since the fall of Communism.

On 17 June 1993, the Verkhovna Rada voted to hold a referendum on 26 September that would serve as a motion of no confidence in President Kravchuk.

In the first round, Kravchuk was supported by the People's Movement (which had originally collected signatures for Volodymyr Lanovyi) and the Democratic Association, an alliance of right-wing parties that viewed Kuchma as pro-Russian.