Comic Zelensky Leads Ukraine’s Presidential Race, Followed by Poroshenko
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Showman and head of the Servant of the People political party Vladimir Zelensky is maintaining lead in the Ukrainian presidential race, followed by incumbent President Pyotr Poroshenko with over 45% of ballots counted, the Central Election Commission said.
According to the CEC, Zelensky has won 30.15% of the vote, while Poroshenko and the leader the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko, garnered 16.71% and 13.09%, respectively. Yuri Boyko, candidate from the Opposition Platform - For Life, comes fourth with 11.51% of the vote, followed by Anatoly Gritsenko of the Civil Position party with 7.11%.
The final voter turnout went as high as 63.52%. However, out of 29.6mln Ukrainians on the voter lists just 18.8mln people received their ballot papers. The lowest turnout was seen in the Zakarpatskay Region, in Ukraine’s southwest, while the most active regions were Lvov and Volyn in the country’s west.
Zelensky won most votes in 20 Ukrainian regions with 27%-54% of ballots counted in Kiev and 24 regions. Poroshenko leads in three western regions, while Boyko was backed in two eastern regions, the CEC said, Tass news agency reported.
Poroshenko was supported by most voters in the Lvov Region (22.42%), the Ternopol Region (24.65%) and the Ivano-Frankovsk Region (22.4%). Boyko led the race in the Donetsk Region (34.17%) and the Lugansk Region (38.47%).
Showman Zelensky was the frontrunner in Kiev and 19 regions. Some 27.3% of citizens of Ukraine’s capital voted for him with 53.52% of ballots counted.
He won the majority of votes (44.87%) in his home region of Dnepropetrovsk, central Ukraine, and also enjoyed a high level of support in the Zakarpatskaya Region (over 40%). Zelensky is also leading in Poroshenko’s native land of Vinnitsa, where he was backed by 21.94% of voters.
Tymoshenko, who came third in the election according to exit polls, did not garner major support in any region.