Zelensky takes lead in Ukraine presidential vote

The leader of the Servant of the People political party Volodymyr Zelensky and incumbent Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko have entered a runoff presidential election with 97.48 percent of the vote counted, Ukraine's Central Election Co mmission said on Tuesday.

According to the commission, all other candidates have lost the chance to participate in the runoff.

The commission later released the poll count. With 98.3 percent of the ballots counted in the first round of the campaign, 30.24 percent of the vote went Zelensky and 15.93 percent to Poroshenko.

Former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko trailed behind in third place with 13.39 percent support.

"This is only the first step toward a great victory," said Zelensky, a professional comedian who has never held elective office.

Zelensky dismissed suggestions that he pool forces with Tymoshenko to win her voters in the second round in exchange for forming a coalition.

"We aren't making any deals with anyone," he said. "We are young people. We don't want to see all the past in our future."

Voting for the presidential election in Ukraine on Sunday kicked off at 8 am and closed at 8 pm A total of 134,381 monitors were deployed across Ukraine to ensure the elections proceeded peacefully.

According to Ukrainian law, if no candidate gets more than half of the vote in the first round, the two candidates with the most ballots will have a runoff election on April 21.

Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta Center, a Kiev-based independent think tank, predicted that Zelensky would win the runoff.

According to Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine news media, Zelensky has suggested holding a referendum before a decision is made on whether Ukraine should seek membership in NATO and the European Union so that no leader could reverse this decision in subsequent changes of the government.

Dmytro Razumkov, a political consultant and an adviser with Zelensky's headquarters, said Zelensky has mentioned this proposal about the European integration in his campaign speeches.

Russia's Tass news agency reported that the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine has invited Poroshenko and Zelensky to take part in debates.

So far, it is not obligatory for the presidential candidates to participate in televised debates. However, on March 20, the Ukrainian parliament introduced a bill that would make changes in the election law, making debates between the runoff candidates obligatory, Tass said.