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Actor Volodymyr Zelensky at his headquarters, March 31, 2019. Genya SAVILOV / AFP

In Ukraine, comedian Volodymyr Zelensky came in first in the first round of the presidential election, according to the first results out of the polls. He is ahead of outgoing head of state Petro Poroshenko and opponent Yulia Tymoshenko.

With our special correspondent in Kiev, Anastasia Becchio

At Voldymyr Zelensky's campaign headquarters, where colleagues and supporters gathered, applause and cheers erupted as television announced the first election results. These results are still to be taken with caution, as each TV channel has its own polls.

Here, the chain of the oligarch Igor Kolomoisky turns in a loop, the very one that broadcasts The Servant of the People, the hit series in which Volodymyr Zelensky plays the role of a professor who became president by chance. Present in his HQ a good half hour before the announcement of the first results, the comedian first played table tennis in front of the cameras. There is also a table football, Playstations, sofas and ottomans.

After the first announcements, Volodymyr Zelensky spoke briefly. He delivered a triumphant speech. " There are several polls out of the polls, but there is only one winner, " he said, referring to Petro Poroshenko's campaign slogan "There are many candidates, but only one President ". Given in second place, the head of state has qualified this place as a " hard lesson ". It ends quite far from Zelensky, whatever the pollsters.

Yulia Tymoshenko, third favorite of this election, does not seem ready to accept this result. At Voldymyr Zelensky's campaign headquarters, news of groups of young people in sports uniforms gathered in front of the Central Electoral Commission and visibly determined to challenge the results is being watched with concern.