Comedian who played state leader in sitcom ‘wins Ukrainian presidential election’
Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has won the Ukrainian election by a substantial margin, exit polls show.
The actor, who plays a man who accidentally becomes president in popular sitcom Servant of the People, won 73 per cent of the vote, polls indicated.Current office holder Petro Poroshenko has since conceded defeat and congratulated Zelenskiy on his predicted success. Stating that the results were ‘clear’ he said: ‘I will leave office but I want to firmly stress – I will not quit politics’.He has no previous political experience Petro Poroshenko congratulated his opponent
In Servant of the People, he plays a school teacher who wakes up to find that a rant he made against corrupt politicians has gone viral and catapulted him into presidency.Poroshenko had used his opponents comedic past in his campaign, telling voters that a five-year presidential term was ‘not a comedy that you can easily switch off if it is no longer funny’.But it would appear Zelenskiy, who has no previous political experience, won over the Ukrainian people with promises to reform the country.
However, critics have argued that the performer has only focused on his difference to other candidates rather putting out any ‘concrete’ policy ideas.He added in a speech: ‘While I am not formally president yet, as a citizen of Ukraine I can tell all post-Soviet countries: “Look at us! Everything is possible!”‘If you have a story for our news team, email us at
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