Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelensky won a victory against his rival Petro Poroshenko in the second round of the presidential elections, according to the exit polls.

THE OFFICIAL RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY MAY 1

According to the National Exit Poll, Zelensky candidate of the Servant of the People Party secured 73.2% of the votes, whereas Poroshenko got 25.3%. The poll announced that the turnout was at 62%.

Following the announcement of the unofficial results, Zelensky thanked the Ukranians for their support. "We have done it together," he was quoted as saying by Ukrinform news agency.

Poroshenko who congratulated the new president-elect admitted that the results were clear. However, defeated Poroshenko also signaled that he will not retire from politics in a speech at his campaign headquarters.

After the first poll results on March 31, no candidate surpassed the 50-percent threshold, paving way for a second round in the presidential elections. </s> COMEDIAN VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY has won a landslide victory in the second round of voting in Ukraine’s presidential election, exit polls show, defeating incumbent leader Petro Poroshenko.

Zelensky, a 41-year-old whose only previous political experience was playing the president on television, took 73 percent of the vote, according to exit polls conducted by several think tanks.

Poroshenko took 25 percent of the vote, losing to the television star across all regions of the country, including in the west where he traditionally enjoyed strong support. The remaining ballots were spoiled.

Zelensky plays a fictional president in the television series Servant of the People and is running as an anti-establishment figure in the elections.

Poroshenko, a billionaire famous for his chocolate-making business Roshen, has been in office since being elected in 2014.

In 2014, Ukraine saw renewed conflict after Russian troops moved in, annexing Crimea, and prompting new sanctions to be introduced by the EU.

It followed public unrest on the Crimean peninsula when president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted and fled to Russia. </s> KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The Latest on Ukraine's presidential election (all times local):

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says his apparent poor performance in the country's presidential election is sobering.

Most exit polls show Poroshenko trailing in second place behind comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy with support of 20 percent or less. That would be enough to put him into a runoff with Zelenskiy on April 21.

Poroshenko has said at a news conference after the polls closed that "I don't feel any kind of euphoria. I critically and soberly understand the signal that society gave today to the acting authorities."

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the comedian whom exit polls show leading Ukraine's presidential election, says he has made a major step toward victory.

Exit polls indicated Zelenskiy would get about 30 percent of the vote, far short of the absolute majority needed to win the first round. Most exit polls said incumbent Petro Poroshenko received the second-biggest support, which would put him and Zelenskiy in a runoff on April 21.

Zelenskiy told journalists after the polls closed that "this is only the first step toward a great victory."

He denied that his campaign would coordinate with the forces of any of the other 37 candidates on the first-round ballot.

He said that "we are young people. We don't want to see all of the past in our future."

Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko is disputing several exit polls that showed her failing to get enough support in Sunday's election to qualify for a runoff.

Several exit polls showed comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy and incumbent Petro Poroshenko as the top two vote-getters. The polls indicated Zelenskiy would get about 30 percent of the votes, ahead of Poroshenko but far away from the 50 percent needed to win in the first round.

However, Tymoshenko's campaign staff said its own exit polling showed her handily in second place.

At a news conference after the polls closed, Tymoshenko called on her supporters to head to polling stations to ensure an honest count.

An exit poll shows comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the lead in Ukraine's presidential election but his support is well short of the majority needed to win in the first round.

The exit poll released Sunday after voting stations closed indicated that Zelenskiy received about 30.4 percent of the nationwide vote, followed by incumbent President Petro Poroshenko with 17.8 percent and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko with 14.2 percent support.

The poll conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology and the Razumkov Center public opinion organization was based on nearly 18,000 responses to questioning at some 400 polling places as of 6 p.m., two hours before the polls closed. The poll claims a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.

A runoff between the top two candidates in the race will take place on April 21.

Ukrainian police say they have received more than 1,600 complaints about electoral violations in the presidential election.

A statement Sunday by Ukraine's Interior Ministry on Facebook said the complaints had been received by 6 p.m., two hours before polling stations were to close.

It said the reported violations included unauthorized campaigning at polling stations, attempts to bribe voters and removal of ballots.

Opinion polls have shown Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who stars in a TV sitcom about a teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral, leading a field of 39 candidates in the presidential race.

The polls also had Zelenskiy outpacing incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the other top candidates, by a broad margin

Ukrainian citizens living in Poland are lining up to vote in their country's presidential election.

It is the first Ukrainian election since the arrival in recent years of large numbers of Ukrainian workers and students seeking higher wages and better opportunities in the neighboring European Union country.

People lined up at the embassy in Warsaw and at three other consular points across Poland on Sunday and cast their ballots, choosing from a field of 39 candidates.

Igor Isajew, editor of a news portal for Ukrainians in Poland, PROstir.pl, said that many other Ukrainians in Poland remain unable to vote because they live too far from the polling stations.

While there are no opinion polls tapping into the views of Ukrainians in Poland, Isajew sees signs that a higher percentage of Ukrainians in Poland than in Ukraine favor incumbent Petro Poroshenko due to his pro-European credentials, despite corruption allegations.

Voters in Ukraine are casting ballots in a presidential election after a campaign that produced a comedian with no political experience as the front-runner and allegations of voter bribery.

Opinion polls have shown Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who stars in a TV sitcom about a teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral, leading a field of 39 candidates. The polls also had Zelenskiy outpacing incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the other top candidates, by a broad margin.

Voter Tatiana Zinchenko, 30, cast her ballot for the comedian. She says "Zelenskiy has shown us on the screen what a real president should be like."

If no candidate secures an absolute majority of Sunday's vote, a runoff between the two top finishers would be held April 21.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> A comedian with no political experience won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election on Sunday, exit polls showed, dealing a stunning rebuke to the country’s political establishment.

Volodymyr Zelensky, whose only previous political role was playing the president in a TV show, trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko by taking 73 percent of the vote, according to exit polls conducted by several think tanks.

It was an extraordinary outcome to a campaign that started as a joke but struck a chord with voters frustrated by poverty, corruption and a five-year war in eastern Ukraine that has claimed some 13,000 lives.

The 41-year-old star of the TV series “Servant of the People” will now take the helm of a country of 45 million people beset by challenges and having run on the vaguest of political platforms.

“I will never let you down,” Zelensky told jubilant supporters at his Kiev campaign headquarters where he was showered with glittering confetti after the exit polls were released.

“While I am not formally president yet, as a citizen of Ukraine I can tell all post-Soviet countries: ‘Look at us! Everything is possible!’.”

Zelensky won in all regions of the country, defeating Poroshenko even in the west where he traditionally enjoyed strong support.

Poroshenko, 53, conceded defeat in a speech at his campaign headquarters and said the results were “clear” and enough reason to “call my opponent and congratulate him. I will leave office but I want to firmly stress — I will not quit politics,” Poroshenko said.

Preliminary results were expected in several hours but the same exit polls were accurate in the first round of the election.

After taking the most votes in last month’s first-round vote, Zelensky had enjoyed a strong lead going into Sunday’s poll.

From Ukrainian-speaking regions in the west of the country to Russian-speaking territories in the war-torn east, many voters said they feared uncertainty but yearned for change.

“We’re tired of all the lies,” said Marta Semenyuk, 26, who cast her ballot for the comedian.

“I think it just cannot get any worse and I hope he’ll live up to his promises,” said Larisa, an 18-year-old student from the government-held eastern port city of Mariupol.

Zelensky’s victory opens a new chapter in the history of a country that has gone through two popular uprisings in the last 20 years and is mired in a conflict with Moscow-backed separatists in the east.

His supporters say only a fresh face can clean up Ukraine’s politics and end the separatist conflict.

But others doubt the showman will be able to take on the country’s influential oligarchs, negotiate with the likes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

“People have gone mad,” Viktoriya Olomutska, a 39-year-old Poroshenko supporter, said in Kiev. “Cinema and reality are two different things.”

Poroshenko had previously mocked his rival’s lack of political experience and argued he was unfit to be a wartime commander-in-chief.

The outgoing leader came to power after a 2014 pro-Western uprising ousted a Kremlin-backed regime, triggering Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.

His supporters credited him with rebuilding the army and securing an Orthodox Church independent of Russia.

But many feel the country’s ruling elite have forgotten the promises of the revolution.

The comic shunned traditional campaign rallies and instead performed comedy gigs and used social media to appeal to voters.

The Ukrainian president has strong powers over defence, security and foreign policy but needs backing from parliament to push through reforms.

Poroshenko’s faction has the most seats in the current legislature and new parliamentary polls are due in October.

The West has closely watched the race amid concern a new government might undo years of economic reforms.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called both Zelensky and Poroshenko on the eve of the run-off vote. </s> Ukrainians on Sunday headed to the polls in a run-off election to vote for their new president.

The country’s nearly 31 million eligible voters had the chance to choose between incumbent president Petro Poroshenko and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky, at 30,000 polling stations. </s> KIEV (Reuters) - Incumbent Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Sunday conceded he had been soundly defeated in a run-off vote by comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy and would be leaving office next month, but said he did not plan to quit politics altogether.

Ukraine entered uncharted political waters on Sunday after an exit poll showed Zelenskiy, a comedian with no political experience and few detailed policies, had easily won enough votes to become the next president of a country at war. </s> KIEV - A comedian with no political experience won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election Sunday, exit polls showed, dealing a stunning rebuke to the country’s political establishment.

Volodymyr Zelensky, whose only previous political role was playing the president on television, trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko by taking 73% of the vote, according to exit polls conducted by several think tanks.

Poroshenko lost to the television star across all regions of the country, including in the west where he traditionally enjoyed strong support.

It was an extraordinary outcome to a campaign that started as a joke but struck a chord with voters frustrated by poverty, corruption and a five-year war that has claimed some 13,000 lives.

The 41-year-old star of TV series “Servant of the People” will now take the helm of a country of 45 million people beset by challenges and having run on the vaguest of political platforms.

After taking the most votes in last month’s first-round election, Zelensky had enjoyed a strong lead over the 53-year-old Poroshenko going into Sunday’s poll.

Voting earlier in the capital Kiev, the beaming frontrunner had said his campaign managed to bring Ukrainians together.

“We have united Ukraine,” he said, wearing a casual suit with a t-shirt and accompanied by his wife. “Everything will be all right.”

Sparkling wine was on offer at his campaign headquarters as the star’s team prepared to toast his victory on Palm Sunday, a week before Orthodox Easter.

Preliminary results were expected in several hours but the same exit polls were accurate in the first round.

From Ukrainian-speaking regions in the west of the country to Russian-speaking territories in the war-torn east, many voters said they feared uncertainty but yearned for change.

“We’re tired of all the lies,” said Marta Semenyuk, 26, who cast her ballot for the comedian.

“I think it just cannot get any worse and I hope he’ll live up to his promises,” said Larisa, an 18-year-old student from the government-held eastern port city of Mariupol.

Zelensky’s victory opens a new chapter in the history of a country that has gone through two popular uprisings in the last 20 years and is mired in a conflict with Moscow-backed separatists in the east.

His supporters say only a fresh face can clean up Ukraine’s politics and end the separatist conflict.

But others doubt the showman will be able to take on the country’s influential oligarchs, negotiate with the likes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

“People have gone mad,” Viktoriya Olomutska, a 39-year-old Poroshenko supporter, said in Kiev. “Cinema and reality are two different things.”

Poroshenko mocked his rival’s lack of political experience and argued he was unfit to be a wartime commander-in-chief.

The outgoing leader came to power after a 2014 pro-Western uprising ousted a Kremlin-backed regime, triggering Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.

His supporters credited him with rebuilding the army and securing an Orthodox Church independent of Russia.

But many feel like the country’s ruling elite have forgotten the promises of the revolution.

“Because this is not funny. Well, at first it can be a bit funny and then it might hurt afterwards,” he said after casting his ballot.

The comic shunned traditional campaign rallies and instead performed comedy gigs and used social media to appeal to voters.

The Ukrainian president has strong powers over the defence, security and foreign policy but needs backing from parliament to push through reforms.

Poroshenko’s faction has the most seats in the current legislature and new parliamentary polls are due in October.

The West has closely watched the race amid concern a new government might undo years of economic reforms.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called both Zelensky and Poroshenko on the eve of the run-off vote. </s> KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainians awoke on April Fools’ Day to the reality of a comedian on the verge of taking over as commander in chief.

Volodymyr Zelensky, a 41-year-old entertainer who plays the president in a popular sitcom, carried 30 percent of the vote in the first round of Ukraine’s real-life presidential election, according to preliminary results Monday morning with more than half the ballots counted.

Zelensky will face the second-place finisher — most likely incumbent President Petro Poroshenko — in a runoff vote on April 21. Zelensky’s win was even stronger than many surveys leading up to Sunday’s vote had predicted. It amounted to a breathtaking rebuke of Ukraine’s establishment by a political novice and millions of voters.

“I am so incredibly thankful to you all,” Zelensky said in a video message to his 3 million Instagram followers. “You may think you’re somewhere out there on the Internet, and we are somewhere far away, but we are all in one life, together.”

Poroshenko appeared on track to eke out a second-place win over his longtime rival, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Poroshenko had about 17 percent of the vote, and Tymoshenko won 13 percent, according to the preliminary tally from Ukraine’s Central Election Commission with 52 percent of ballots counted.

Tymoshenko said Sunday night that she was convinced she had in fact won second place and would be carrying out her own parallel vote count. But Poroshenko was already training his guns on Zelensky, who he suggested would sell out Ukraine’s interests to the Kremlin. Zelensky has said he’d be willing to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a way to end the war with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

“From this very minute, we need the total mobilization of all Ukrainian patriots,” Poroshenko said after the polls closed Sunday. “No one has the right to leave the country’s fate up to those who are casting their votes, as they say, as a joke. The jokes are over.”

In a case of life imitating art — or in this case, Netflix — Zelensky’s only claim to presidential experience is that he plays a commander in chief in a popular television series, “Servant of the People.”

His character, Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko, is a simple but upright schoolteacher, who is unexpectedly catapulted to the presidency and tackles the country’s venal oligarch class.

Among Zelensky’s supporters, the series’ message resonates that honesty among politicians should trump all other considerations, and that he himself in real life is seen to be decent and corruption-free.

“He’s young, progressive and is different from everything that’s come before,” said Katerina Tarasiuk, a 31-year-old real estate agent in Kiev who voted for Zelensky despite her concerns about his lack of political experience. “He’s a businessman and has proven himself in a lot of other areas.”

While Zelensky has focused his campaign on fighting corruption, Poroshenko has cast his candidacy for a second five-year term as an act of resistance against Russian aggression. His campaign revolved around strengthening the military, the Ukrainian language, and a Ukrainian Orthodox Church independent from Moscow. Only with him, Poroshenko argued to voters, could Ukraine continue to build closer ties to Western institutions such as the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Poroshenko signaled Sunday he was ready to escalate his attacks on Zelensky. He cast the comedian as a puppet of Ihor Kolomoisky, who controls the TV channel that airs Zelensky’s sitcom. Kolomoisky and Zelensky both deny that Kolomoisky is behind the comedian’s political ambitions.

“On April 21, we will either confirm our movement toward the E.U. and NATO, or we’ll turn back,” Poroshenko said. “I would like to remind everyone that this is not a joke. This is the election of the commander in chief.”

‘Parallel universe’: The front-runner seeking to be Ukraine’s president plays one on TV

‘Everything is bad’: Ukraine on edge in election with untested comedian as front-runner

Meet Mostik: Russia’s celebrity cat and the unofficial mascot for annexed Crimea

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news </s> Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy heading for victory in first round of Ukrainian election

Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy heading for victory in first round of Ukrainian election

Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy is heading for victory in the first round of the Ukrainian election

A comedian looks set to win the first round of voting in Ukraine's presidential election.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, 41, who plays a fictional TV president, had 30.4% after votes, after nearly 70% of the country's polling stations were counted.

The current president, Petro Poroshenko, was trailing in second with just over 16% and Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister, was third on 13%.

With none of the candidates likely to secure more than half of the votes, the election is likely to go to a second round on 21 April, where Ukrainians will choose between the top two candidates.

"This is only the first step toward a great victory," Mr Zelenskiy said.

Full results are expected to be announced later on Monday.

The three were among 39 candidates in a country that faces issues including widespread corruption, a faltering economy and a seemingly endless war with Russian-backed separatists in the country's east.

Ukraine is also subject to a bailout programme run by the International Monetary Fund, and investors will want to know that any new president will continue reforms required to keep this on track.

Mr Zelenskiy, 41, is new to politics but found fame on TV playing a teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral.

During his presidential campaign, Mr Zelenskiy said he wanted to develop the economy and attract investment through "a restart of the judicial system".

He also proposed a tax amnesty and a 5% flat tax for big business which could be increased "in dialogue with them and if everyone will agree".

As he cast his own vote on Sunday, Mr Zelenskiy said: "A new life is beginning, a normal life, a life without corruption, without bribes - life in a new country, the country of our dreams."

Later, he denied he would join forces with any of the other candidates, saying: "We are young people - we don't want to see all of the past in our future."

However, the election's first round was marred by more than 1,600 complaints about unauthorised campaigning at polling stations, attempts to bribe voters and the removal of ballot papers.

Incumbent Mr Poroshenko insisted the elections were fair, adding that this was "a necessary condition for our movement forward, to Ukraine's return to the European family of nations".

Regarding the exit poll result, he said: "I critically and soberly understand the signal that society gave today to the acting authorities."

Ms Tymoshenko said the exit poll contradicted her own internal polling, which had her in second place, adding that she might contest the final result.
According to exit polls, comedian Volodymyr Zelensky wins Ukraine's presidential run-off election over incumbent President Petro Poroshenko with more than 70 percent of the votes. Poroshenko concedes defeat.