Ukraine election: comedian Volodymyr Zelensky who played president on TV show wins actual presidency by a landslide
- Ukraine’s election catapults 41-year-old stand-up comedian and television star with no political experience, into the nation’s top job
- Zelensky will have to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, deep economic problems and possibly rebellious elites
A comedian with no political experience won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election, drawing congratulations from global leaders while dealing a stunning rebuke to his country’s political establishment.
Volodymyr Zelensky, whose only previous political role was playing the president in a television show, trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko by taking 73 per cent of the vote, according to partial official results.
Poroshenko garnered just 24 per cent, losing to the 41-year-old comedian and actor across the country, with 42 per cent of ballots counted.
It was an extraordinary outcome to a campaign that started as a joke but struck a chord with voters frustrated by social injustice, corruption and a war with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine that has claimed some 13,000 lives.
The star of the television series Servant of the People will now take the helm of a country of 45 million people beset by challenges and having run on the vaguest of political platforms.
“I will never let you down,” Zelensky told jubilant supporters at his campaign headquarters where he was showered with glittering confetti.