Hungry for change, Ukrainians set to elect comedian as next president

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian comic actor and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the media outside a polling station during a presidential election in Kiev, Ukraine March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainians fed up with entrenched corruption and hungry for change are likely to elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a comedian with no previous political experience, as their next president in a run-off vote on Sunday.

The 41-year-old Zelenskiy, who plays a fictitious president in a popular TV series, has maintained a strong lead since winning nearly twice as many votes as the incumbent President Petro Poroshenko in last month's first round of the election.