Kyiv asks not to recognise voting in occupied territories

Athe elections, held in Russia between today and September 20, are “a farce of the occupying power, which has nothing to do with democratic elections,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated in a statement.

Ukraine recognises neither elections that it considers illegal nor its “senseless results,” the Ministry added, referring to the vote held on the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow since 2014, and in the partially occupied regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporijia and Kherson.

These areas account for about 20% of Ukrainian territory and correspond to the main combat fronts since the large-scale invasion of Russian troops in February 2022.

Moscow officially considers them Russian territory, although the generality of the international community does not recognize it.

“ We call on foreign states, international organisations and other subjects of international law not to recognize these actions of Russia and not to consider them a manifestation of the legitimate political will of the population of the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories,” Kyiv said.

This statement reflects the concern that elections may confer an appearance of legitimacy on the Russian occupation of the Ukrainian regions, characterised by serious human rights violations, according to Ukrainian authorities and non-governmental organisations.

“ There can be no free expression of will in these places where Ukrainians are persecuted for their pro-Ukrainian stance, tortured, intimidated and forced to obtain Russian documents,” condemned Ukraine’s human rights provider, Dmytro Lubinets.

Several testimonies collected by Ukrainian human rights defenders indicated that many inhabitants of those southern and eastern regions of the country were forced to accept Russian passports under the threat of losing access to basic services such as health care.

The Ukrainian authorities urged the inhabitants of the occupied areas to avoid participating in the elections whenever possible and warned of criminal consequences for citizens involved in the organisation of the electoral process.

The Russian voters have today begun three days of voting in the first legislative wartime, which are hardly opposed and which must confirm the political dominance of the Kremlin.

The Russian authorities distributed the election over the weekend in an attempt to increase participation among the 111 million eligible voters and allowed the electronic vote.

The Kremlin wants the parliamentary election — the first since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — to strengthen public support for the war and to seek to avoid any political risks, repressing the slightest sign of dissent.

“Your choice and determination will once again demonstrate that millions of people support our fighters, that we are a united people, linked by shared values, historical memory and love for the homeland,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said to the nation before the electoral process began.

The main party of the sphere of power, United Russia, has practically guaranteed the maintenance of its crushing control of the lower chamber, the State Duma.

Several smaller parties of the “systemic opposition”, who vote in tune with the government on all key issues, must also maintain their presence.

Voters vote in two separate ballots, filling half of the 450 Duma seats by selecting the listed political parties.

The remaining part is played in uninominal circles, with voters choosing individual candidates.

The spokesman of the European Commission, Christian Wigand, ranked the vote in the regions controlled by Russia as “illegal” and stressed the condemnation of the Community bloc.

“ These so-called elections represent yet another flagrant violation of international law. The European Union does not and will never recognise the holding of these so-called elections, fraudulent elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and its results,” he said, at a time when several countries close to the conflict region report an increasing number of “hybrid attacks” attributed to Moscow.

Wigand said that the way the elections are held “emphasizes the continuing and growing erosion of democracy in Russia” and that the Kremlin “prives Russian voters of a genuine choice over their country’s future.”.

It also noted that Russia decided not to invite observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

About 20% of Russian voters have already exercised the right to vote, including half of those who were registered to do so electronically.

Voting assemblies opened in Moscow at 0800 locals (06:00 in Lisbon), nine hours after the vote began in the Chukotka district and on the Kamchatka peninsula, the two most eastern regions of the country.

They can also vote for Russians living in 152 countries, where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has enabled 333 voting assemblies, many of them in diplomatic missions.

The only party opposed to war, Yabloko, is not on the ballot board because it was excluded by the Supreme Court.

However, about a hundred of Yabloko's candidates still hold the chance of election in the uninominal circles.