Heard the one about a comic who became the president?

A COMEDIAN has won Ukraine’s presidential election in a landslide, exit polls suggested last night.

The polls showed political novice Volodymyr Zelenskiy, pictured, receiving 73.2 per cent of the nationwide vote – well ahead of incumbent Petro Poroshenko on 25.3 per cent.

The funnyman’s victory is a crushing rebuke to Mr Poroshenko’s five years in office, amid accusations of corruption and a war with Russia-backed separatist rebels that killed 13,000 people.

Mr Zelenskiy was criticised for a vague campaign platform and having never held public office, but voters have cast aside those concerns in favour 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-year-old computer programmer. It’s time to change that.’

Mr Zelenskiy, 41, became famous for his comic TV portrayal of a teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral.

Mr Poroshenko, 53, was a billionaire confectionery magnate and former foreign minister when he took office in 2014 after protests drove his Russia-friendly predecessor to flee the country.