Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk have held preliminary power-sharing talks – with their pro-Western parties set to dominate the country’s parliament following Sunday’s general election.

But the two leading political groups, roughly neck and neck, appear to be seeking a broader alliance.

Yuriy Lutsenko, of the Poroshenko bloc, said all parties who took part in the Independence Square protests should be involved in the creation of a coalition, namely the nationalist Freedom Party, ex -premier Yulia Tymoshenko’s Motherland Party and the pro-Europe Self-Help or Self Reliance Party.

Partial results put Self Help in third place, delighting its leader, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, who is looking ahead to a new era.

“Those who get government jobs should be the best experts in their fields – not just someone’s friends or colleagues as it used to be,” he told euronews.

“We must have direct, personal responsibility. Only self-sufficient political figures should become ministers – with the right to take independent decisions and bear responsibility.”

Communists now look set to be absent from parliament for the first time.

President Poroshenko, who dreams of Ukraine one day joining the EU, is looking resolutely West and met a delegation from the European Parliament in Kyiv.

“I will kindly ask you to maybe accelerate the process of ratification of the association agreement in your countries,” he told his European guests, saying it would be an important gesture of support for Ukraine.

The EU delegation also met Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, following this first parliamentary election since the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych in February. Despite parties sympathetic to Moscow trailing, Russia says it is likely to recognise the election.