Ukraine Election: After the tears, comedian Volodymyr Zelensky and Petro Poroshenko face off in second round battle

Mr Poroshenko now faces a battle for his political life and legacy in a run-off on 21 April

Volodymyr Zelensky and Petro Poroshenko defeated Yulia Tymoshenko in the first round of votes.

Showman and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has cemented his dominant position after the first round of Ukraine’s presidential elections.

With more than 95 per cent of precincts reporting, Mr Zelensky’s 30.25 per cent share was almost twice that of runner-up Petro Poroshenko, who polled just 15.94 per cent.

Given the margin of victory, the incumbent president now faces a battle for his political life and legacy. It is expected Mr Poroshenko will draw on every ounce of the cunning that helped him squeeze Yulia Tymoshenko into third place (13.39 per cent).

Ms Tymoshenko’s exit was the drama of the weekend, with the former prime minister refusing to accept defeat and the likely end of her own presidential ambitions.

Speaking after the release of the exit polls, she promised to dispute the count once a final result was clear. But on Monday, as the hours ticked on and the ballots mounted, hopes of her making a credible claim to second position faded. While final results may be days away, it is now inconceivable that she will be able to close the gap.

The Independent understands Ms Tymoshenko will make an announcement on Tuesday in which she may avoid officially endorsing either election campaign.

It is as yet unclear what form, if any, her legal challenge will take.

Privately, her supporters admit that focus will now switch to parliamentary elections in September, a vote that may prove as crucial in determining the future balance of power in Ukraine.

International observers painted a largely positive picture of the elections as broadly competitive, free and peaceful. Ilkka Kanerva, leader of the OSCE observer mission, said the competitive election had laid the groundwork for a vibrant second round.

But others drew attention to reports of vote buying and the use of government resources to influence the election.

Ms Tymoshenko’s supporters said Mr Poroshenko’s use of “election tricks” proved to be the deciding factor in the elections.

The former prime minister protested one-off payments to pro-Poroshenko “agitators” and the appearance of a candidate on the ballot paper with almost the same name as her own.

In the event, the 110,000 votes given to Yuri Tymoshenko were likely almost all given in error, and constituted 0.6 per cent of the vote.

“There may not have been significant violations on the day, but the abuse of technical candidates and budget resources easily accounts for the 2.5 per cent projected gap,” claimed Kateryna Odarchenko, a political consultant who worked on Ms Tymoshenko’s team. “People were literally handed $50 to agitate for Mr Poroshenko. Given the poverty in our country, that was a very weighty argument indeed.”

Ms Odarchenko said she expected Mr Poroshenko’s campaign to roll out the tactics on an even larger scale in an attempt to bridge the gap with Mr Zelensky.

The initial outlines of the president’s attack strategy were already clear soon after polling closed. Mr Zelensky was funny, he said, but a novice who would crumble when faced with Vladimir Putin.

“It’s up to you who will be the country’s commander-in-chief and who will represent Ukraine in international meetings and, yes, in talks with Russia,” he said.

Mr Poroshenko also said the second round would be a showdown with the oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, whose television channel runs Mr Zelensky’s show: “Fate has paired me – and I’m not shy of saying this – with Kolomoisky’s puppet. I won’t give them a single chance.”

He said that he would immediately begin campaigning for a second-round victory.

Under Ukrainian law, campaigning is in fact banned for 10 days.