A comedian whose political experience is limited to playing the president in a TV show is likely to top the first round of voting when Ukrainians go to the polls on Sunday.
Actor Volodymyr Zelensky's bid started as a long shot but he has leapfrogged establishment politicians amid public frustration over corruption and stagnating living standards.
The 41-year-old star of political comedy "Servant of the People," which returns for its third season this week, is polling at around 28 percent, well ahead of his nearest rivals.
The main suspense ahead of the weekend vote is who of incumbent Petro Poroshenko and ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko will progress to the run-off, as several polls put them neck and neck with around 16 percent.
Zelensky, who has a young support base, confesses he has "no experience" but insists he has the strength to lead Ukraine -- a country of 45 million locked in a separatist conflict.
"I don't have all the knowledge but I'm learning this now," he told AFP in an interview this month.
"I don't want to look like an idiot."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content