Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky casts his ballot next to his wife Olena at a polling station during Ukraine's parliamentary election in Kiev on July 21, 2019. (AFP)
KIEV, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's party on Monday claimed victory in the snap parliamentary elections held over the weekend, expecting to secure an absolute majority in the 424-seat parliament.
With more than half of the ballots counted, Zelensky's Servant of the People party won 42.4 percent of the vote.
The party's campaign manager Oleksandr Korniyenko said Servant of the People could garner 125 to 127 seats as directly elected candidates and 121 to 122 seats in the party list voting, according to state media.
Of the 424 seats in the Ukrainian parliament, 225 lawmakers are elected on party rolls and 199 lawmakers are directly elected in single-mandate districts.
The commanding lead will give Zelensky control of parliament as he has been seeking to form a new government following his landslide victory in April's presidential election.
Zelensky said that his party is ready to discuss a possible coalition with singer Svyatoslav Vakarchuk's Holos party, which is ranked fifth in the single-mandate voting according to national exit polls.
"Our proposal to Mr. Vakarchuk was voiced since the beginning of my presidential campaign ... We invite Mr. Vakarchuk to talk with pleasure," said Zelensky last Sunday during a briefing at his party's headquarters in Kiev.
According to the national exit poll as of 8 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) on Sunday, five parties had a chance of crossing the 5 percent threshold and making their way to the parliament. The Servant of the People party received 44.2 percent, the Opposition Platform - For Life 11.4 percent, European Solidarity 8.8 percent, Batkivshchyna 7.4 percent, and Holos 6.5 percent.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) said Monday that the voter turnout in Sunday's parliamentary elections reached 49.84 percent, after collecting data from all 199 electoral constituencies in the country.
The CEC is expected to announce the official results of the elections no later than Aug. 5.
Zelensky, the comedian-turned-president, stunned the political world in the recent election by pledging to root out corruption, ensure the equality of Ukrainian citizens before the law, and improve healthcare and education services.
The highly possible victory of his party in the snap election would give him a stronger mandate to implement reforms.
