Former boxing champion and Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko claimed re-election on Wednesday, saying he was honoured to have won the support of "over 50 percent" of voters during local elections in Ukraine. On Sunday, the ex-Soviet state of some 40 million people voted to elect mayors and local councils. Final official results were expected in several days. Kiev election officials told AFP they would release the results of the mayoral race at a later date. "I am grateful and consider it a success that I have not lost people's trust," 49-year-old Klitschko said in a post on Facebook. "This result is a great honour and a great responsibility for me." Klitschko is a former world heavyweight champion, as is his younger brother Wladimir Klitschko. He has served as mayor of Kiev since 2014. Opinion polls had put Klitschko far ahead of his rivals with over 45 percent of votes. Earlier this week Klitschko posted on social media a picture of actor and former politician Arnold Schwarzenegger's handwritten message that said: "Vitali, congratulations. I am so proud of you." Klitschko himself was not able to vote in Sunday's election because he was self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus. osh/as/cdw