Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy emerged with a strong lead from the first round of Ukraine's presidential elections on March 31. With nearly 80 percent of ballots counted, the Central Election Commission reported Zelenskyy had some 30 percent of the vote, looking likely to face President Petro Poroshenko (with around 16 percent) in a second round run-off on April 21.
Ukraine Decides
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A woman casts her ballot at a polling station in Kyiv. (Reuters/Viacheslav Ratynskyi)
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A woman seen through a voting-booth curtain at a polling station in the village of Kosmach, western Ukraine. (Reuters/Kacper Pempel)
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A Ukrainian serviceman studies presidential candidates at a polling station near the front line against Russia-backed separatists, in the village of Zaitseve, eastern Ukraine. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)
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An elderly woman examines her ballot paper in Maryinka, near Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. (AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)
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Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko casts her ballot at a polling station in Kyiv. (AFP/Sergei Gapon)
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An elderly woman casts her ballot at home in Maryinka, eastern Ukraine. (AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)
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Electoral workers prepare ballots at a polling station. (AP/Emilio Morenatti)
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A little girl casts a man's ballot in Kyiv. (AFP/Sergei Supinsky)
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A member of a local election commission carries a mobile ballot box during voting in the village of Kosmach, western Ukraine. (Reuters/Kacper Pempel)
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A man prays before casting his ballot at a polling station in Kyiv. (AFP/Sergei Supinsky)
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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko casts his ballot as his grandson, Petro, looks on, at a polling station in Kyiv. (AP/Efrem Lukatsky)
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A view of a ballot box at a polling station in Kyiv. (AFP/Sergei Gapon)
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Ukrainian servicemen sit in a truck to head to a polling station, near the front line with Russia-backed separatists, near Butivka, in eastern Ukraine. (AFP / Anatolii Stepanov)
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Ukrainian comic actor and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskyy casts his ballot at a polling station in Kyiv. (Reuters / Valentyn Ogirenko)
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Kataryna Bidnosheya studies her ballot papers in the village of Velyki Dmytrovychi, central Ukraine. (EPA-EFE / Tatyana Zenkovich)
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A Ukrainian government soldier casts his ballot at a polling station in Maryinka, eastern Ukraine. (AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)
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An election observer signs a protocol during the Ukrainian presidential elections in the village of Velyki Dmytrovychi, some 40 km south of Kyiv. (EPA-EFE / Tatyana Zenkovich)
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Ukrainian comic actor and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskyy plays table tennis at his campaign headquarters in Kyiv. (Reuters / Valentyn Ogirenko)
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Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks with supporters outside a polling station after casting her ballot in Kyiv. (AFP / Sergei Gapon)
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Members of the electoral commission open a ballot box in Kyiv, March 31, 2019. (EPA-EFE / Tatyana Zenkovich)
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Ukrainian comic actor and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a speech as his wife Elena applauds following the announcement of the first exit poll, March 31, 2019. (Reuters / Valentyn Ogirenko)
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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gestures while speaking at his headquarters in Kyiv after the election, March 31, 2019. (AP/Efrem Lukatsky)
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A journalist broadcasts a session of Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission live via a mobile phone in Kyiv, April 1, 2019. ( Reuters / Vasily Fedosenko)