Start your Independent Premium subscription today.Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate?Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. But Mr Poroshenko’s hands-on intervention was ultimately unsuccessful. The people loved the character, a humble history teacher who accidentally rises to power and doesn’t let it corrupt him. Exit polls are expected when voting stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). The president of Ukraine (Ukrainian: ... Volodymyr Zelensky, a former actor and comedian with no prior political experience has become the sixth President of Ukraine, scoring a record 73.22% of the popular vote in the run-off against the incumbent Petro Poroshenko. And if Zelenskiy’s comedian-turned-politician counterparts around the world are any indication, Ukraine might be in for a tough summer.
First preliminary results are expected several hours after. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, centre right, and his wife Olena Zelenska, greet supporters after exit polling gave the comedian a commanding leadOutgoing Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko raises his hand with his wife Maryna at his party headquarters in KievUkrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of the first exit pollComedian and leading Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy plays ping pong with a journalist at his election night gathering in Kiev, Ukraine. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 21Ukrainian servicemen queue to cast their ballots at a polling station near the front line line with pro-Russian separatists near Avdiivka, Donetsk region, during the first round of Ukraine's presidential electionVolodymyr Zelenskiy, centre right, and his wife Olena Zelenska, greet supporters after exit polling gave the comedian a commanding leadOutgoing Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko raises his hand with his wife Maryna at his party headquarters in KievUkrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of the first exit pollComedian and leading Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy plays ping pong with a journalist at his election night gathering in Kiev, Ukraine. “We need someone who can give a chance to the young generation, not to their cronies,” said Oleg, a concert promoter also casting his vote at station 800633, who asked that his surname be withheld.Further down the road at polling station 800697, returning officers reported that people’s anger with the government occasionally spilt over into dealings with them.
7/22/19, 1:07 AM CET. There are a number of possible reasons: they believed he the humble president from the TV series, or they feel he is an energetic newcomer untouched by corrupt dealings, or, the most likely reasons, they voted for him as an anti-establishment gesture, or simply as a joke.
But television reigned supreme in a dirty four-month campaign that ended last week when comedian Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a crushing defeat to incumbent president and “chocolate king” Petro Poroshenko.
“We had to calm a few of them down.” Other than that, the vote had gone smoothly, Ms Gaidai said, with only minimal electoral violations. They include the Opposition Platform — For Life, a pro-Russian party; former President Petro Poroshenko’s European Solidarity; former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Fatherland; and rock star Svyatoslav Vakarchuk’s aptly named Voice.Holding the majority in parliament means Zelenskiy will likely be able to get a prime minister of his choosing and other Cabinet positions approved with relative ease.Speaking after the results were announced, Zelenskiy said he would welcome coalition talks with Vakarchuk’s reform-focused party.
Ukraine has become known in recent years as a laboratory for Russia’s experimentation with digital disinformation techniques.
“Everything is possible.” Delivering a speech to more than 700 cheering aides and journalists, the president-elect promised he would not “mess up” on the challenge he had been given, after an exit poll suggested he would gain nearly three-quarters of votes.But in line with a campaign that has remarkably avoided any detailed policy discussion, Mr Zelensky offered no clarity about the future direction of his presidency. Her strongest focuses are Eastern Europe and anything related to Post-Soviet territory.
However, more than 70% of Ukrainian voters chose Zelenskiy anyway. The other half are filled by individual candidates running in single-mandate districts.But because of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and the war in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, 26 seats weren’t up for grabs in this election.Servant of the People’s victory in party-list voting was clear when polls closed on Sunday.