The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Ukraine said on Friday a record 44 candidates have registered to compete in the country's March presidential election.

Ukraine's incumbent President Petro Poroshenko, opposition politician Yulia Tymoshenko and actor Volodymyr Zelensky, who are viewed as front-runners in the presidential race, have been registered as the candidates, according to the CEC official website.

Earlier, local media reported that the CEC received 89 bids from presidential hopefuls for the election scheduled to be held on March 31.

The candidates have a chance to withdraw from the presidential race no later than March 7.

In 2004, Ukraine has registered the previous record number of 26 candidates, while 21 presidential hopefuls participated in the 2014 campaign.