Volodymyr Zelensky’s habit of defying odds has continued, with Ukrainian election authorities projecting an outright majority for the president’s Servant of the People party in Sunday’s general election.

With 79.15 per cent of votes counted, Mr Zelensky party was on course for a total of 253 seats in parliament, comfortably beyond the 226 needed to form a government.

The projected result, which concentrates executive and legislative powers in the hands of the former comedian, is a first for modern Ukraine. It means Mr Zelensky now has full control of his coalition and cabinet of ministers, and will be able to pick a prime minister of his own choosing.

“Welcome to the new reality,” said Tatyana Slipachuk, Ukraine’s top election official, when briefing journalists on the sensational results.

Exit polls had indicated the former showman had performed well, and would at least be able to form a coalition with like-minded partners. On Sunday evening, the smart money was on a showbiz political pact with a new party fronted by musician Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, one of five parties to make past the 5 per cent voting threshold and into parliament.

But once counting began, it became clear Mr Zelensky’s party had disproportionally benefited from Ukraine’s mixed voting system, outperforming all other parties in first-past-the-post constituencies. Candidates running on the presidential ticket swept home across the country. There were especially strong performances in the centre and east.

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

With the votes to do most government business, there was no apparent need for Mr Zelensky to reach out to Mr Vakarchuk and the 20 projected deputies in his fraction. But some suggested the maverick president might all the same look to form a coalition of progressive unity. One possible advantage of such a move is that it would inch the president nearer to a two-thirds majority required for constitutional changes.

On Monday, Dmytro Razumkov, leader of the victorious fraction, suggested Mr Zelensky was minded to go it alone: ”We will co-operate with political forces who share our views and outlook for the country. But for the moment there is no need to talk about a coalition. Our results aren’t bad at all.”

Those results completed a spectacular reset in Ukrainian politics — one that began with the former comedian’s unexpected landslide in April. The new parliament will be unrecognisable to the one that went before it, with more than three quarters of deputies being elected for the first time. Many political dynasties, some of whom has invested big in re-election, were toppled in the process, as traditional voting patterns collapsed.

“Money is no longer a guarantee of victory,” wrote the popular blogger Denis Kazansky. “This was simply a massacre.”

Mr Zelensky’s victory also brings its own problems. Managing expectation will be difficult, but a potentially larger problem is managing egos and unchecked power. The overwhelming nature of the win sets up the prospect of a fundamental change in the way Ukraine is governed: moving the country from a system of balanced, competing oligarchy to something different, but as yet unclear.

Dealing with that will require serious statebuilding, says Balazs Jarabik, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Unfortunately for Ukraine’s rookie president, there are no off-the-shelf models to choose from. Instead Mr Zelensky will have to come up with an entirely “Ukrainian solution.”