It’s no longer an act

Comedian tipped to take role as president of Ukraine for real

MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2019 themercury.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS 1300 696 397 A COMEDIAN who plays the role of Ukraine’s president on television looks set to take on the job for real, according to polls ahead of the overnight election.

Dismayed by endemic corruption, a struggling economy and a five-year fight against Russia-backed insurgents in the country’s east, Ukrainian voters appear poised to strongly rebuke incumbent Petro Poroshenko and replace him with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, 41, who has never held political office.

Mr Zelenskiy, a comic actor, is best known for his TV portrayal of a schoolteacher who becomes Ukrainian president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral.

The name of the show, Servant of the People, became the name of his party. Like his TV character, Mr Zelenskiy has focused his campaign on corruption.

The campaign has been marked by Mr Poroshenko and Mr Zelenskiy jockeying for dominance, including a dispute over holding a debate that left Mr Poroshenko standing next to an empty lectern and Mr Zelenskiy’s challenge for both candidates to be drug tested.

Mr Zelenskiy has strongly run his campaign mostly on social media with Mr Poroshenko calling him a “virtual candidate”.

Mr Poroshenko was criticised for a video linked to his campaign that showed Mr Zelenskiy being run over by a truck. The two finally held a debate on Friday night, hours before campaigning ended.

In an unexpected move less than 10 hours before polls were to open, a Kiev court heard a suit demanding that Mr Zelenskiy’s registration as a candidate be cancelled.

The court rejected the case, which claimed he committed bribery by offering tickets to the Friday debate.

Mr Zelenskiy has proposed to remove immunity for the president, parliament members and judges, and a lifetime ban on holding public office for anyone convicted of corruption.