Zelenskiy Officially Declared Winner of Presidential Election in Ukraine

Ukraine's Central Election Commission has formally declared Volodymyr Zelenskiy the winner of the country's presidential election, releasing final results from the April 21 runoff vote. Commission Chairwoman Tetyana Slipachuk announced on April 30 that Zelenskiy received 13,541,528 votes, more than 73 percent, while incumbent President Petro Poroshenko received 4,522,450, less than 25 percent. The numbers were in line with the unofficial figures released shortly after the runoff between Zelenskiy, a 41-year-old comedian with no political experience, and Poroshenko, 53, who is close to the end of a five-year term. The turnout was 61.37 percent, Slipachuk said, adding that the commission had not received any major complaints that could put the results of the election in doubt. The official results of the runoff were based on the protocol signed by 15 members of the commission — one member was absent at the session — and official representatives of the contenders. Zelenskiy is expected to be inaugurated in early June.