Actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy poses a threat to President Petro Poroshenko who rose to power in 2014 after the Maidan revolution which culminated in the ousting of the then-president Viktor Yanukovych. Political newcomer Mr Zelenskiy, 41, is riding on a wave of enthusiasm after building his campaign on a promise to bring an end to corruption in the country rocked by instability and chaos. Ukraine represents the frontline between the West’s standoff with Russia and the blame for the ongoing conflict blighting the country’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk has been directed at Mr Putin.
Mr Zelenskiy is the frontrunner in the polls in the race which out of 39 candidates has been dominated by himself and just two others – President Poroshenko, 53, and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, 58.
The funnyman is expected to win 20.9 percent of votes ahead of Mr Poroshenko on 13.7 percent. If no candidate receives at least half the votes a run-off election will be held on April 21.
In sitcom Servant of the People, Mr Zeleskiy plays a secondary school teacher who accidentally lands the role of president after his impassioned speech about corruption goes viral and he becomes an household name overnight.
Arriving at the polling station on Sunday, the showman joked around with journalists saying he had “voted for a very worthy guy”.
Mr Zelenskiy added: “A new life is beginning, a normal life, a life without corruption, without bribes – life in a new country, the country of our dreams.”
Promoting himself as an anti-establishment strongman, the actor has denied claims he is a puppet of Igor Kolomiosky.
The TV station owned by the controversial oligarch provided a platform for Mr Zelenskiy to rise in popularity by airing round-the-clock programmes in which he appears in.
None of the candidates likely to win the race are keen to see their country return to the days of Russian influence.
President Poroshenko is fiercely pro-West and has sought to align Ukraine with the European Union and NATO.
He is also a big believer is strengthening Ukraine’s defences and under his watch the military, with the help of volunteer units, managed to push back pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region.
Investors will be waiting to see whether the country’s next leader will push reforms needed to keep Ukraine in an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme that has supported it through the war, recession and a fall in the hryvnia, the national currency.
Mr Poroshenko, who is known as “The Chocolate King” because he made his money in the confectionary business, was asked by reporters about the importance of a fair vote when he arrived at a polling station on Sunday morning flanked by family members.
He said: “This is an absolutely necessary condition for our moving forward, for the return of Ukraine into the family of European nations and our membership of the European Union and NATO.”
The war in Donbass has killed 13,000 people in five years.