Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has expressed outrage over the State Duma elections in which residents of the LDPR and Crimea who have been granted Russian citizenship can take part
“The inclusion of Ukrainian citizens living in the temporarily occupied territory in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the nearly 1.5 million voters who now reside in temporarily occupied Crimea, will significantly distort the results of the Russian State Duma elections and generally cast doubt on their legitimacy”, – the Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry called for “condemning Russia’s actions and clearly stating its non-recognition of the election results”, as well as “increasing political and diplomatic pressure on the Russian Federation, in particular by extending sanctions against it”.
Earlier, the head of the Russian Central Electoral Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said in an interview with RIA Novosti that there would be no polling stations on the territory of the Luhansk and Donetsk people’s republics, but that residents of Donbas who had received Russian citizenship would be able to vote in Rostov Region or remotely.
Austrian observer Patrick Poppel said that the elections in Russia were held democratically, in compliance with all the necessary international norms. We shall remind you that voting in the elections to the State Duma will take place from September 17 to 19. The lower house of parliament is elected under a mixed system for a five-year term: 225 deputies will be elected by party lists, 225 – in single-mandate districts.