Billionaire “chocolate king” Petro Poroshenko claimed the Ukrainian presidency with an emphatic election victory on Sunday.  He now has the unenviable task of somehow leading the nation out of crisis, quell pro-Russian separatists in the east, and steer the economy towards closer cooperation with Europe.

The chocolate baron’s 55 percent vote tally means he won’t have to stand in a runoff.  But the sweet victory was soured because millions in the east didn’t or simply were not able to vote.  The separatists blocked the polling places and in some cases, destroyed election equipment.  And many didn’t bother to vote at all, because they no longer feel any allegiance to Kiev, and would rather leave Ukraine and join Russia.

“The first steps that we will take at beginning of presidential office should be focused on stopping the war, to put an end to this chaos and bring peace to a united Ukraine,” Poroshenko said, promising to hold parliamentary elections before the end of the year  “When there is a parliamentarian crisis, the only solution in a democracy is early elections,” he added.