German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that she welcomed the preliminary result of presidential election in Ukraine, and called for further political process to stabilize the situation.

In a press conference in Berlin, Merkel said it would be "gratifying" if Petro Poroshenko were elected as the Ukrainian President in the first round of ballot held on Sunday, while adding that a final result was still being waited.

Preliminary official results showed that Poroshenko, a 48-year-old billionaire and independent politician, led the ballot with a vote share of 53.7 percent.

Merkel said the presidential election was the first step for Ukraine, and should lead to a constitutional process and parliament elections in the Eastern European country. Germany would be helpful to accompany the process, she said.

During his campaign, Poroshenko pledged to initiate early parliamentary elections in the country before the end of this year, and vowed to intensify efforts to harmonize his country's relationship with Russia.