Ukrainian comic Volodymyr Zelensky is set to win the presidency in a landslide victory over incumbent leader, Petro Poroshenko, exit polls show. Zelensky has already been visited by police over violating one election law.
In the spirit of the entire election, and to technically observe the rules, preliminary polls masqueraded as reports on preferences between two alcoholic drinks. Those gave Zelensky an overwhelming victory with 70 percent of votes, with Poroshenko in turn scoring some 30 percent.
The frontrunner, however, got himself into trouble with the law on Sunday when he showed his ballot to the cameras with a ticker next to his name. This violated Ukraine’s rules on secrecy of elections. Police arrived to Zelensky’s campaign HQ to issue a fine for the deed, but his team said it was no big deal.
Zelensky, a professional comedy actor, scriptwriter and producer, comes to power in Ukraine on the wave of disillusionment with Poroshenko’s failure to tackle corruption and a sharp decrease of living standards in Ukraine over the past five years.
His campaign was built on a promise to break down a corrupt system of oligarchic power in Kiev. Part of his appeal was rooted in a character he played in a TV series – a school teacher who accidentally became the head of state and chose to act as a servant of the people.
Zelensky’s campaign apparently outmaneuvered that of Poroshenko’s, culminating in the comedian’s idea to turn the public debate into a massive show hosted at a Kiev stadium. The Friday debate sealed Zelensky’s lead, despite the incumbent’s attempts to portray his opponent as a Moscow stooge and a puppet of oligarch Igor Kolomoysky.
By securing the presidential office Zelensky’s political party – called ‘Servant of the People’ after his own TV show – gets a head start in the upcoming parliamentary election, scheduled for October. He will need to secure a support base in the legislature to be able to implement his policies, and a failure to do so may easily undermine his landslide win.