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

MOSCOW

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's party is leading the election race at 42.85%, with over 80% of the votes counted, the nation’s electoral 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 illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, or in eastern Ukraine, which is currently under the control of pro-Russian rebels.

***The opposition Platform - For Life Party is trailing with 12.97% of the votes.

***Former President Petro Poroshenko's European Solidarity party came third with 8.33% of the vote.

***Former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko's All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" Party got 8.10% of the vote.

***The last party to cross the 5% threshold necessary to go into the assembly is the Voice Party led by pop singer Svyatoslav Vakarchuk with 6.07% of the vote.

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

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

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