Ukraine Election: Comedian Leads The Presidential Contest

A comedian with no political experience has won the most votes in the first round of Ukraine's presidential elections, early results indicate.

With half the ballots counted, Volodymyr Zelenskiy - who plays the president on TV got about 30%, with current leader Petro Poroshenko on 16%.

The two - who have expressed largely pro-EU opinions - are set to take part in a run-off election next month.

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko appears to have been eliminated.

"I'm very happy but this is not the final action," Mr Zelenskiy told the BBC's Jonah Fisher, minutes after exit polls were announced.

Mr Poroshenko described his second-place showing as a "harsh lesson".

Presidential election results

Leading candidate in each region. Latest as of 8:45, 1 April, Kiev time (BST +2). 50.36% of votes counted.

Voting results for all candidates on the Ukrainian Election Commission website.

The Interior Ministry says hundreds of electoral violations have been reported, but foreign observers say the vote appeared to be mainly smooth.

A total of 39 candidates were on the ballot paper. With none receiving more than 50%, the top two will go forward to the run-off on 21 April.

The Ukrainian President has significant powers over security, Defence and Foreign Policy, in a system described as semi-presidential.

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