Ukraine president's party gets lion's share of votes

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's party is leading the election race at 45.45% with half of the votes counted, the election authority said Monday.

The Eastern European country held snap parliamentary elections on Sunday after Zelensky, formerly a popular comedian, dissolved the parliament, Verkhovna Rada, during his swearing-in ceremony in May.

The elections did not take place in Crimea, a peninsula on the northern Black Sea coast annexed by Russia in 2014, and in the east of Ukraine which is currently under control of pro-Russian rebels.

Opposition Platform - For Life Party is trailing with 12.88% of the electorate.

Former President Petro Poroshenko's European Solidarity party came third with 8.64% of the vote.

Former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko's All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" Party gathered 8.01% of the vote.

The last party which managed to cross the 5% threshold necessary to go into the Verkhovna Rada is the Voice Party led by pop-singer Svyatoslav Vakarchuk. It got 6.38% of the vote.

The Ukranian Central Election Commission (CEC) declared the snap polls "valid" on Monday.

CEC head Tatyana Slipachuk told reporters in Kiev there were no violations that could discredit the election campaign.

"Today we can say that there are no such events that would put into question this parliamentary campaign. It is valid," she said.