Reflecting on an extraordinary triumph that saw him sweep home with three times the votes of his opponent, comedian Volodymr Zelensky said his victory offered an example of democratic change to the rest of the former Soviet Union.

“I say to you, look at us,” he said. “Everything is possible.”

Delivering a speech to more than 700 cheering aides and journalists, the president-elect promised he would not “mess up” on the challenge he had been given, after an exit poll suggested he would gain nearly three-quarters of votes.

But in line with a campaign that has remarkably avoided any detailed policy discussion, Mr Zelensky offered no clarity about the future direction of his presidency.

With polls showing Mr Zelensky enjoying a commanding lead since the first round on 31 March, the result of the election was never in much doubt. But the scale of his victory, projected at 73 per cent against 25, was such that Petro Poroshenko must now be wondering about his political future.

As election day approached, this had become a very personal campaign, with the incumbent taking greater control over strategy. But Mr Poroshenko’s hands-on intervention was ultimately unsuccessful. It now seems unlikely he will be able to build up any significant momentum ahead of October’s all-important parliamentary elections.

Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Show all 26 1 /26 Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Volodymyr Zelenskiy, centre right, and his wife Olena Zelenska, greet supporters after exit polling gave the comedian a commanding lead AP Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Outgoing Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko raises his hand with his wife Maryna at his party headquarters in Kiev AFP/Getty Images Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of the first exit poll REUTERS Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Comedian and leading Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy plays ping pong with a journalist at his election night gathering in Kiev, Ukraine. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in a second-round election on April 21 Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Election officials count ballots at a polling station in Kiev during the first round of Ukraine's presidential election, AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures People walk in front of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev during Ukraine's presidential election AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian servicemen sit in a truck to head to a polling station, near the front line with pro-Russian separatists, near Butivka, Donetsk region AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishke AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishkek AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishkek AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishkek AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A young girl casts the ballot of a man at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election, on. Exit polls are expected when voting stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). First preliminary results are expected several hours after. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 2 AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky waves in front of voting booths at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks with the media after casting her ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks with the media after casting her ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks with the media after casting her ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky casts his ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky gestures in front of voting booths at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Images Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky walks with his ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Images Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A view of the building of the Ukrainian Central Election Commission in Kiev during Ukraine's presidential election. AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) casts his ballot at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election, The 53-year-old president has positioned himself during the political campaign as the only person able to stand up to the Kremlin and has promised to return Crimea to Ukraine if he is re-elected. AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A voter emerges from the voting booth after filling out her ballot for Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev, Ukraine. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in a second-round election on April 21. Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian president Petro O. Poroshenko (C), running for re-election, receives his ballot in Ukraine's presidential election on in Kiev, Ukraine. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in a second-round election on April 21 Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A woman holds her ballot as she leaves a voting booth at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election. - Exit polls are expected when voting stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). First preliminary results are expected several hours after. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 21 AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A young girl casts the ballot of a man at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election. Exit polls are expected when voting stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). First preliminary results are expected several hours after. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 21 AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian servicemen queue to cast their ballots at a polling station near the front line line with pro-Russian separatists near Avdiivka, Donetsk region, during the first round of Ukraine's presidential election AFP/Getty

Speaking to altogether glummer faces at his election headquarters across town, Mr Poroshenko said he would stay in politics to defend his achievements.

“Never give up, I’ve said it before. I say it again, now I see the results of the exit polls, which are obvious. They tell me that I need to call my opponent right now and congratulate him.”

Just after 9pm local time, Mr Poroshenko phoned to congratulate the comedian on his victory, promising to assist the new president in his job. It was a symbolic moment – a rare, peaceful and democratic transfer of power in post-Soviet history.

As the first leaked polling numbers began to show the thing that Mr Poroshenko most feared – a high turnout at more than 60 per cent – the bar of what constituted even partial victory went lower and lower.

In the event, Mr Poroshenko was even unable to command a majority in the western region previously considered most receptive to his militaristic-nationalistic offer.

At polling stations across Kiev, Ukrainians told The Independent that the vote for Mr Zelensky was more accurately a vote of dissatisfaction with the incumbent president. Some said they had voted for the president, but recognised that the majority had become disillusioned with his government.

“People want change but don’t understand the real world,” said Natalya Kovalenko, a businesswoman, shortly after casting her vote at polling station number 800633 in Kiev’s Podil district. “The democratic process is a good thing, but the Zelensky vote is born out of immaturity.”

Mr Zelensky’s supporters said the incumbent had exhausted the trust of his fellow countrymen.

“We need someone who can give a chance to the young generation, not to their cronies,” said Oleg, a concert promoter also casting his vote at station 800633, who asked that his surname be withheld.

Further down the road at polling station 800697, returning officers reported that people’s anger with the government occasionally spilt over into dealings with them.

“They see us as an extension of government, so they think it’s OK to throw all their bad vibes on us,” said Yevgenia Gaidai. “We had to calm a few of them down.”

Other than that, the vote had gone smoothly, Ms Gaidai said, with only minimal electoral violations. It was “the cleanest” election she had witnessed in “many decades” in the job, she added.

That picture that mirrored elsewhere across the country, with the monitoring organisation Chesno reporting a reasonably clean bill of health. “There was pressure on voters, but the elections were reasonably smooth and freer than ever before,” said Chesno’s analyst Anton Filippov.

Ukraine’s outgoing president will now reflect on the things that went wrong: an inferior social media presence and messaging; an electoral strategy that failed to address people’s economic hopes; and a campaign that failed to reverse the perception of unfulfilled promises.

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“Ukraine gave up on Poroshenko like people give up alcohol,” says Konstantyn Batozsky, an independent political expert and former civil servant. “He managed to unite the nation in a way no previous president did – united in hatred of Poroshenko. Tomorrow everyone will be quarrelling again.”

Mr Zelensky, an accidental president, will also be reflecting on his own unlikely path from comic actor to head of state.

A presidency likely first conceived as a joke had now become a reality, says Valery Kalnysh, editor of NV radio, an independent political broadcaster.

“We understand his candidacy emerged after indicative polls were commissioned to see which personalities could challenge Poroshenko,” he says.