Comic wins Ukraine prez race
KIEV, Ukraine — A comedian whose only political experience consists of playing a president on TV appeared headed for a landslide win in Ukraine’s presidential election Sunday.
Exit-poll results released after voting stations closed showed sitcom star Volodymyr Zelenskiy receiving an extraordinary 73.2% to President Petro Poroshenko’s 25.3%.
If borne out by election returns, the overwhelming victory by Zelenskiy would stand as a crushing rebuke to Poroshenko’s five years in office and a verdict on the country’s corruption, sickly economy and grinding war against Russian-backed separatists that has killed over 13,000 people.
With official returns yet to be released, Poroshenko’s accepted defeat, saying: “I am leaving office, but I want to firmly underline that I am not leaving politics.”
Zelenskiy, for his part, vowed after the release of the exit polls: “I promise I will never let you down.” And he suggested that his apparent victory could be a model for other former Soviet states that want to move forward from ossified politics.
“To all the countries of the former Soviet Union, look at us,” he said. “Everything is possible.”
Although Zelenskiy was criticized for a vague campaign platform and never holding public office, voters appeared to cast aside those concerns in favor of a thorough sweep of Ukraine’s political leadership.
“I have grown up under the old politicians and only have seen empty promises, lies and corruption,” said Lyudmila Potrebko, a 22-yearold computer programmer who voted for Zelenskiy. “It’s time to change that.”
Zelenskiy, 41, became famous for his comic portrayal in a Ukrainian TV series of a high school teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral.
Poroshenko was a billionaire candy magnate and former foreign minister before he took office in 2014 after huge street protests drove his Russia-friendly predecessor to flee the country. Although he instituted some reforms, critics said he had not done nearly enough to curb corruption.
Millions in the rebelcontrolled east and in Russia-annexed Crimea were unable to vote. Russia seized Crimea in 2014, and fighting in the east erupted that year.
The incumbent campaigned on the same promise he made when he was elected in 2014: to lead the nation of 42 million into the European Union and NATO. However, those goals have been elusive amid Ukraine’s many problems. A visa-free deal with the EU led to the exodus of millions of skilled workers for better living conditions elsewhere in Europe.
The current president told voters: “It could be funny at first, but pain may come later.”
Zelenskiy’s image has been shadowed by his admission that he had commercial interests in Russia through a holding company, and by his business ties to self-exiled billionaire businessman Ihor Kolomoyskyi. Kolomoyskyi owns the TV station that aired the actor’s sitcom and his other comedy shows.