Volodymyr Zelenskiy has 30.4% of vote, beating Petro Poroshenko and ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko

Polls in Ukraine closed on Sunday evening with actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy expected to hold a commanding lead in the first round of the country’s presidential elections.

With 11% of the ballots counted early on Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy had more than 29% of the votes. The incumbent president, Petro Poroshenko, was in a distant second place followed by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko with about 17% and 14% respectively, the national elections commission said. The results were closely in line with a major exit poll.