Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ukraine's monster ballot paper

The people of Ukraine are voting in the first round of presidential elections.

Current leader Petro Poroshenko, 53, is seeking re-election but the surprise front-runner is 41-year-old comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Both, along with former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, 58, have expressed largely pro-EU views during the campaign.

None of the pro-Russian candidates are seen as serious contenders. Areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists are boycotting the poll.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Volodymyr Zelenskiy cast his vote in Kiev

If no candidate gets more than 50% on Sunday, the top two will fight it out in a second round on 21 April.

A total of 39 candidates are on the ballot paper, but only the three front-runners are considered to have any chance of victory.

The Ukrainian president has significant powers over security, defence and foreign policy and the ex-Soviet republic's system is described as semi-presidential.

How did we get here?

Mr Poroshenko, one of Ukraine's wealthiest oligarchs, was elected in a snap vote after former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was toppled in the February 2014 Maidan Revolution, which was followed by Russia's annexation of Crimea and a Russian-backed insurgency in the east.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ukraine's presidential elections: five things to know

The next president will inherit a deadlocked conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists in the east, while Ukraine strives to fulfil EU requirements for closer economic ties.

The EU says that about 12% of Ukraine's 44 million people are disenfranchised, largely those who live in Russia and in Crimea, which Russia annexed in March 2014.

Just who is the surprise front-runner?

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The comedian who could be president

Mr Zelenskiy is aiming to turn his satirical TV show - in which he portrays an ordinary citizen who becomes president after fighting corruption - into reality.

He has torn up the rule book for election campaigning, the BBC's Jonah Fisher reports from Kiev. He has done no rallies and few interviews, and appears to have no strong political views apart from a wish to be new and different.

His extensive use of social media appeals to younger voters.

His readiness to speak both Russian and Ukrainian, at a time when language rights are a hugely sensitive topic, has gained him support in Ukraine's largely Russian-speaking east.

Opinion polls suggest he will have a clear lead over Mr Poroshenko and Ms Tymoshenko in the first round, and would retain it in a run-off against either of them.

Who are the other candidates?

Mr Poroshenko aims to appeal to conservative Ukrainians through his slogan "Army, Language, Faith".

Image copyright AFP Image caption Petro Poroshenko voted with his wife

He says his backing for the military has helped keep the separatists in eastern Ukraine in check. He also negotiated an Association Agreement with the EU, including visa-free travel for Ukrainians. During his tenure the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has become independent of Russian control.

However his campaign has been dogged by corruption allegations, including a scandal over defence procurement, which erupted last month.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Yulia Tymoshenko stood for president twice before

The third main contender is Yulia Tymoshenko who has served as prime minister and ran for president in 2010 and 2014. She played a leading role in the 2004 Orange Revolution, Ukraine's first big push to ally itself with the EU.

The front-runner among the pro-Russian candidates, Yuriy Boyko, says he would "normalise" relations with Russia.</s>KYIV -- Comedian and political novice Volodymyr Zelenskyy secured the most votes in Ukraine's presidential election but fell short of the majority needed to win outright in the first round, exit polls suggested.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who stars in a TV comedy series about a teacher who becomes president after denouncing corruption, had at least 30 percent of the vote, according to three separate polls. All polls put incumbent Petro Poroshenko in second place with about 18 percent of the vote. They showed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in third with about 14 percent.

If the polling data is confirmed by official results, Zelenskyy and Poroshenko will advance to a runoff on April 21.

With slightly more than 1 percent of votes counted, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said Zelenskyy had 27 percent, followed by Poroshenko with 17.6 percent, and Tymoshenko with 16.40 percent.

"Today a new life starts, without corruption," Zelenskyy, 41, said at his party headquarters in Kyiv shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. local time.

Asked how he was feeling, Zelensky said he was a "bit anxious."

"I'm a living person. My wife and friends are at my side, that makes it easier for me. It's just a huge responsibility. I understand what responsibility is, so I...I feel fine."

Poroshenko said he felt "no euphoria" following the exit-poll results.

"This is a harsh lesson for me and the authorities as a whole. It is a reason to work on our mistakes," he said at his campaign headquarters in Kyiv.

Poroshenko also tried to put a positive spin on the exit polls, saying Russia did not want him in the second round.

"My friends, today you -- Ukrainians, we -- Ukrainians, smashed Russia's scenario for the first round [of Ukraine's elections], because Poroshenko was precisely the person they did not wish to see in the second round. That failed completely."

Poroshenko has fought to integrate the country with the European Union and NATO, while strengthening the military which is fighting Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.

Tymoshenko's campaign team, meanwhile, claimed its own exit polling showed her comfortably 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.

Tymoshenko, 58, who was among the leaders of the 2004-05 Orange Revolution against a flawed presidential vote, campaigned heavily on anti-Poroshenko sentiment and appeals to populism, including pledges to cut gas prices to households by half within a month of taking office and drastically raising pensions.

Ukrainians and outsiders hope the eventual winner can bring much-needed stability and reform to a country that is a key transit route for Russian gas and an ally in Western efforts to keep a resurgent Russia in check.

Ukraine's Interior Ministry said it had received more than 1,600 complaints about electoral violations two hours before polls closed.

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

At a press conference late on March 31, Tetyana Slipachuk, head of the CEC, said there had been "no systemic violations" during the balloting.

"We can say that the will of the Ukrainian people has been expressed," Slipachuk said.

The CEC said by late afternoon "no systemic violations" had been reported.

"There are isolated instances, but they are classic for any voting process in any election campaign," CEC Secretary Natalia Bernatska told journalists.

The CEC later issued figures showing turnout at nearly 64 percent.

At a Kyiv polling station, the entire Dobriyvechir family of four told RFE/RL they voted for Zelenskyy, with daughter Anastasia, 19, saying she believed the comic-turned-candidate is a "good man" who shares the same values in real life as the fictional president he plays in his hit sitcom Servant of the People.

"He's going to make our country better" like he does in his show, she said. Her mother, Svitlana, said that Zelenskyy was the obvious choice for her, because life hasn't become better under incumbent Poroshenko. "Life has gotten worse in the past five years," she said. "Utility prices have gotten higher and pensioners like our grandmother can't afford to live."

"Poroshenko delivered visa-free travel and the Tomos" -- the declaration that created a new, independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine -- "but otherwise he didn't do enough for us," Svitlana added.

Veteran campaigners Poroshenko and Tymoshenko, a onetime gas-industry entrepreneur who was jailed over a gas deal with Russia after her second-place finish in the 2010 presidential race, both have hefty party structures behind them.

Ukrainians' interest in the election has reportedly risen over the past year, with many citing the simmering war, national unity and reconciliation, and the fight against corruption as their highest priorities.

In the southeastern port city of Mariupol, near the front line of the conflict that has cost some 13,000 lives over five years, a soldier who was casting his ballot said the war is "the main question for everyone."

"The country is tired of this situation, people are tired," 22-year-old soldier Sergiy told AFP.

Zelenskyy has appealed to young people in particular with carefully crafted social-media messages like the crowdsourcing of a potential cabinet, and taken a tough line against corruption, including proposing a lifetime ban on public office for cheats and a tax amnesty to encourage the repatriation of offshore assets.

Critics have questioned Zelenskyy's ties to a controversial exiled oligarch whose TV station was blitzing viewers with his programs ahead of the voting. But it was unclear whether those attacks or reports linking Zelenskyy to ongoing Russian businesses and accusing him of a failure to disclose a multimillion-dollar Italian villa would tarnish his transparency credentials in the eyes of voters.

Poroshenko has suffered from generally high unfavorability ratings over perceived failures to enact political and economic reforms or tackle widespread corruption, however. And more recently, some of the ultranationalists who have enjoyed relative impunity under his wartime administration turned on Poroshenko over a military-procurement scandal involving alleged profiteering by the son of a longtime ally.

But the 53-year-old chocolate mogul has also kept the broadly popular aim of further integration with Europe high on his agenda, and earlier this year he helped win autocephaly for an Orthodox Church of Ukraine to buoy his nationalist credentials.

After voting alongside his family on March 31, Poroshenko said a fair vote was essential for Ukraine's progress.

"This is an absolutely necessary condition for our moving forward, for the return of Ukraine into the family of European nations and our membership of the European Union and NATO," Poroshenko said.

At his final campaign rally, on March 28 in Lviv, Poroshenko told the crowd that the country had "just started to make up the losses after the crisis" brought on by Russia's 2014 invasion but vowed that "the worst, friends, is definitely over," according to AFP.

None of the other 36 candidates consistently polled over 10 percent, although possible dark horses include former gas executive and ex-minister Yuriy Boyko, an opposition leader who has advocated repairing relations with Russia.

All three of the leading candidates are seen as generally pro-Western.

"Ukraine in any case is moving in the direction of the West," dpa quoted Vadim Karasyov, director of the Institute of Global Strategies, as saying in the run-up to the election.

Five years removed from street unrest that unseated pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych after he tacked away from closer cooperation with the European Union, opinion polls suggest an overwhelming majority of Ukraine's 44 million people still want dramatic change in domestic policy.

But the result will resonate well beyond Ukraine, which abuts Russia to the east, Belarus to the north, a handful of EU members to the west, and Moldova and the strategically important Black Sea to the south.

Moscow could be watching closely for opportunities to undermine Ukrainian defiance in the face of the separatist threat that Moscow has stoked since Russian troops invaded Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 or to chip away at Western support for Kyiv.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose administration has depicted Kyiv's post-Euromaidan leadership as a "junta," this week declined to say "whether the election could be recognized as illegitimate," according to TASS.

Ukrainian security officials warned in the final week of campaigning that "Russia intends to carry out unprecedented cyberattacks" against the country's election supervisors "in order to cast doubt on the legitimacy" of the vote.

Observers like the Atlantic Council's Brian Meffordhave predicted that the voting "is likely to be the cleanest and least fraudulent election in Ukraine's history."

But Olha Aivazovska, who heads the Opora civil network, which has alleged campaign-funding violations and supervisory and other problems, suggested that Ukrainians were showing the "lowest level of confidence in the electoral process in the history of elections in Ukraine."

If no one wins a majority outright, the top two candidates advance to a runoff on April 21.

The World Bank warned last year that Ukraine's economic "outlook depends on the pace of reforms and on reaching an agreement on the [International Monetary Fund] program," which has extended billions in credit to Kyiv since the conflict broke out five years ago, crippling Ukraine's economy and devaluing its currency.

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.</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>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>Ukrainians are heading to the polls on Sunday to vote in the first round of presidential elections.

Current leader Petro Poroshenko is seeking re-election but the surprise front runner is comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Both candidates, along with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, have expressed largely pro-European views during campaigning.

None of the pro-Russian candidates are seen as serious contenders.

If no candidate gets more than 50% on Sunday, the top two will fight it out in a second round on 21 April.

A total of 39 candidates are on the ballot paper, but only the three front-runners are considered to have any chance of victory.

The Ukrainian president has significant powers over security, defence and foreign policy and the ex-Soviet republic's system is described as semi-presidential.

Mr Poroshenko, one of Ukraine's wealthiest oligarchs, was elected in a snap vote after former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was toppled in the February 2014 Maidan Revolution, which was followed by Russia's annexation of Crimea and a Russian-backed insurgency in the east.

The next president will inherit a deadlocked conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists in the east, while Ukraine strives to fulfil EU requirements for closer economic ties.

The EU says that about 12% of Ukraine's 44 million people are disenfranchised, largely those who live in Russia and in Crimea, which Russia annexed in March 2014.

Who are the main candidates?

Mr Zelenskiy, 41, is aiming to turn his satirical TV show - in which he portrays an ordinary citizen who becomes president after fighting corruption - into reality.

He is polling at about 25%, is seen as appealing to younger voters. His campaign has made extensive use of social media.

President Poroshenko, 53, aims to appeal to conservative Ukrainians through his slogan "Army, Language, Faith".

He says his backing for the military has helped keep the separatists in eastern Ukraine in check. He also negotiated an Association Agreement with the EU, including visa-free travel for Ukrainians. During his tenure the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has become independent of Russian control.

However his campaign has been dogged by corruption allegations, including a scandal over defence procurement, which erupted last month.

The third most popular candidate, according to opinion polls, is Yulia Tymoshenko, 58, who has served as prime minister and ran for president in 2010 and 2014. She played a leading role in the 2004 Orange Revolution, Ukraine's first big push to ally itself with the EU.

The front-runner among the pro-Russian candidates, Yuriy Boyko, says he would "normalise" relations with Russia.</s>On paper, the presidential field is an incredibly crowded one, with nearly 40 officially registered candidates representing either themselves or various Ukrainian political parties. Between registration time from early January and today, five more would-be candidates withdrew from the race in favour of others.

Several dozen more potential candidates, including several veteran politicians stepping out for a neutral, non-aligned Ukraine and a business-like relationship with Russia, were denied registration. This includes former veteran lawmaker Vladimir Oleinik, and Petro Symonenko, leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine, whose party was prohibited from participating in the election under the country's decommunization laws.

Despite these nuances, observers say only three candidates – including the current president, a long-time veteran of Ukrainian politics, and a comic upstart-turned protest candidate, have any real chance of victory under Ukraine's voting system, which requires the top two candidates from the first round of voting to face off for a second round.

Well-known showman, comic, actor and art director of television production company Kvartal 95 Volodymyr Zelensky became the unexpected wild card in the 2019 presidential race. The comic, running on a populist, anti-oligarch, anti-corruption, anti-Poroshenko platform, is polling at over 26 percent of the vote according to Ukraine's RATING agency, (or up to 32 percent, according to Kiev International Institute of Sociology polling), virtually guaranteeing him a place in the second round.

Among his promises is a vow to 'lock up' the current president, a willingness to talk with world leaders, including Russia's Vladimir Putin and the US's Donald Trump, promises to negotiate a peace to the civil war in the Donbass, principled opposition to the ban on Russian artists, and a proposal to ban oligarchs from "having their own deputies in parliament."

Late last year, Zelensky told Ukrainian interviewer Dmitry Gordon the following regarding NATO and EU membership: "I never go to someone else's house if I'm not called. And we have not been called yet. Why do we need to put this in the constitution, if it is possible to come to an agreement on the sly? Or agree with a dozen different countries on military partnership, and get help in this way."

Zelensky's candidacy has sparked concerns among Western observers, with his apparent waffling on NATO of particular concern to the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, which has voiced fears about his "lack of commitment in pursuing European integration." At the same time, the think tank notes that Zelensky may at least share a "willingness to listen to expert advice," citing his recent meeting with former pro-Poroshenko economic officials to discuss the importance of liberal economic policy supported by the International Monetary Fund. In that sense, the implications of a Zelensky victory would depend on his ability or desire to challenge the entrenched pro-Western establishment in Kiev.

Incumbent President Petro Poroshenko faces an uphill battle in his quest for a second term. Economic malaise, a massive outflow of Ukrainians abroad (with some 4.6 million working-age people, or 25 percent of the country's economically active population, believed to have left the country in search of work, according to Ukraine's Statistical Agency), the ongoing conflict in the Donbass and multiple corruption scandals led Poroshenko's ratings to dip to the single digits in 2018. Currently, Poroshenko is polling at 17.2 percent support among would-be voters, according to RATING. This result would put Poroshenko in the running for second round of voting, if he can secure victory over veteran politician Yulia Tymoshenko.

Poroshenko is one of the wealthiest people in Ukraine, with his fortune, including holdings in everything from the Roshen confectionary company to the Channel 5 television broadcaster, to car, bus and military factories and a shipyard, standing at $1.1 billion in 2018, increasing some 10 percent since 2017, making him the sixth richest Ukrainian national. Poroshenko reportedly transferred his shares in Roshen to the Rothschild Trust foundation in 2016.

According to RATING, Poroshenko is running neck and neck for second place with Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the Fatherland (Batkivshchyna) party, with the veteran politician also polling at 17.2 percent of the vote. A key political figure during the Orange Revolution, Tymoshenko lost to Yanukovych in the second round of voting in the 2010 presidential elections.

Tymoshenko was convicted of embezzlement and abuse of power in 2011 for alleged illegal activity involving a natural gas import contract with Russia during her term as prime minister between 2007 and 2010. She was released from a hospital in Kharkiv and rehabilitated in 2014, immediately after the Maidan coup, having served just three years of a seven year sentence, and only one of them in an actual jail. Tymoshenko lost to Poroshenko in the 2014 presidential election, taking some 12.81 percent of the vote compared to Poroshenko's 55 percent.</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.</s>KIEV – The headquarters of presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko of the Batkivshchyna Party accused the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) of falsifications and provocations during the elections, the deputy head of the party said on Sunday, March 31.

FRN reminds readers that yesterday, in breaking news, Poroshenko ordered the SBU and special forces of the police, to seize control of the polling stations.

Only the top two candidates will go into the run-off, but Tymoshenko and Zelensky were leading ahead of Poroshenko according to various (and all) polls when voting began today.

Then, throughout the day, Poroshenko received ‘unknown support’ from mystery voters, and surged ahead of Tymoshenko in exit polling.

At the headquarters of “Batkivschyna” they said that they would conduct their vote count, and that Tymoshenko is entering the second round of presidential elections. This was also reported by the presidential candidate herself during a speech broadcast on her Facebook page .

According to Tymoshenko, her party will fight for each protocol and for the votes of each voter.

According to the headquarters, Vladimir Zelensky scored 27% of the vote, Tymoshenko was supported by 20.9% of the voters, and 17.5% of the voters voted for the current president. But that figure is contrary to the official count (below) which will see Zelensky square off with Poroshenko in the April 21st elections.

“Based on preliminary data, we believe that this gives grounds for at least a 2 to 3% increase in our candidate Yulia Tymoshenko,” the headquarters noted.

On March 31st, the first round of presidential elections was held in Ukraine; 39 candidates fought for the highest state post. The head of the party “Servant of the People”, Vladimir Zelensky, leads exit polls. For him, their votes cast 30.4% of voters. It is followed by the current president Petro Poroshenko (16–17%) and the leader of the Opposition Platform – For Life, Yuriy Boyko (14–15.5%).

In the second round, which is scheduled for April 21, Zelensky and Poroshenko will square off.

Observers recorded multiple violations committed during the voting process. In Lugansk , an illegal surge of votes was recorded, and the British ambassador in Kiev, Judith Gough, publicly violated the country’s electoral legislation. Earlier in the day, a similar incident occurred with presidential candidate Oleg Lyashko.

The CEC of Ukraine refused to recognize the systemic nature of the violations and stated that “isolated cases” are classic for all votes.</s>March 31 (UPI) -- Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy sat at the top of exit polls as Ukrainians voted in presidential elections Sunday.

The 41-year-old television actor held 29.25 percent of the vote, while current President Petro Poroshenko, 53, was second with 19.19 percent, as 63.92 percent of all registered voters cast their ballots, the Kyiv Post reported.

Neither candidate emerged from the field of 39 entrants with more than 50 percent of the vote, prompting a second round of voting between the top two candidates on April 21.

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, 58, trailed behind the pair with 13.75 percent. Tymoshenko told reporters at her campaign headquarters that her campaign exit poll predicted she came second with 20.9 percent.

Zelenskiy, who stars in a satirical TV show about a citizen who becomes president by fighting corruption, has captivated the attention of the country's young voters by campaigning largely through social media and eschewing traditional outlets such as rallies and interviews.

He has also gained support amid conflicts over language rights by readily speaking Russian and Ukrainian.

Poroshenko has run on the slogan "Army, Language, Faith" and has attributed his support of the military for keeping separatists in check.

He also negotiated an Association Agreement with the EU, including visa-free travel for Ukrainians during his time in office.

Tymoshenko had previously played a role in Ukraine's first effort to align with the EU in 2004, when she served as prime minister.

Amid efforts to fulfill requirements to tighten Ukraine's relationship with the European Union and conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists, the three leading candidates have embraced pro-EU stances while no pro-Russian candidates are expected to contend.</s>Ukraine’s chief elections commission says nearly 64 percent of the nation’s registered voters participate in the presidential elections.

Only fragmentary results in the election had been reported three hours after the polls closed. Total preliminary results are anticipated to be declared on Monday morning.

No voting has been held at the parts of eastern Ukraine under the hands of Russia-backed separatist rebels or in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia at 2014.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko claims his obvious poor operation in the country’s presidential election is sobering.

Most exit polls show Poroshenko trailing in second position behind comic Volodymyr Zelenskiy with assistance of 20 percent or less. That might be enough to place him into a runoff using Zelenskiy on April 21.

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

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the comic whom exit polls reveal major Ukraine’s presidential election, says he has made a major step toward success.

Exit polls suggested Zelenskiy would get about 30% of their vote, far short of the absolute majority required to win the first round. Most exit polls stated incumbent Petro Poroshenko obtained the second-biggest service, which could put him Zelenskiy at a runoff on April 21.

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

He said that”we’re young people. We do not want to see all of the past in our future.”

Democratic presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko is disputing several exit polls that revealed her failing to get sufficient support in Sunday’s election to be eligible for a runoff.

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

However, Tymoshenko’s campaign staff said its exit polling revealed her conveniently in 2nd location.

An exit poll shows comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the lead in Ukraine’s presidential elections but his service is well aware of the majority required to acquire in the first round.

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

The poll conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology and the Razumkov Center public opinion organization relies on almost 18,000 answers to questioning at several 400 polling areas as of 6 p.m., two weeks before the polls closed.

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

Ukrainian police say they have received over 1,600 complaints about electoral offenses in the presidential elections.

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

It stated the reported violations included unauthorized campaigning at polling stationsand attempts to cover Republicans and elimination of ballots.

Opinion surveys show Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who stars in a TV sitcom about a teacher that becomes president following a video of him denouncing corruption moves 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’s the first Ukrainian election because the arrival in recent years of large numbers of Ukrainian workers and students looking for higher salaries and better chances in the neighboring European Union nation.

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

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

When there aren’t any opinion polls tapping into the perspectives of Ukrainians in Poland, Isajew sees evidence that a higher percentage of Ukrainians in Poland than in Ukraine favor incumbent Petro Poroshenko due to his pro-European credentials, despite corruption allegations.

Founded in Ukraine are casting ballots in a presidential elections after a campaign that generated a comic without political experience because the front-runner along with allegations of voter bribery.

Opinion polls show Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who stars in a TV sitcom about a teacher that becomes president following a movie of him denouncing corruption moves viral, leading an area of 39 applicants. The surveys also had Zelenskiy outpacing incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, another leading candidates, by a wide margin.

Voter Tatiana Zinchenko, 30, cast her ballot for the comedian. She states”Zelenskiy has shown us around the display what a real president must be similar to.”

If a candidate secures an absolute majority of Sunday’s vote, a runoff between the two top finishers would be held April 21.
Voters in Ukraine go to the polls today in the first round of the presidential election. President Petro Poroshenko is seeking re-election, with comedian Volodymyr Zelensky and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko the primary challengers. All three have expressed largely pro-European views. Former Vice Prime Minister Yuriy Boyko is the front-runner among the pro-Russian candidates. A total of 39 candidates are on the ballot, increasing the probability no candidate will win more than 50 percent of the votes. If so, the top two will meet in a second round on 21 April.