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MOSCOW: Russia\u2019s parliamentary election for the first time includes residents of regions that Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine after the start of its full-scale invasion more than 4 1\/2 years ago, part of Kremlin efforts to cement its gains.<\/p>\n
Officials in Kyiv vigorously denounced the action as illegal, and a human rights activist described residents there as being coerced to participate in the election.<\/p>\n
While the vote across Russia started Friday and lasts until Sunday to help boost turnout, balloting actually has been underway in the annexed parts of Ukraine and some areas on the Russian side of the border since the end of last month. Officials cited security reasons for the extended period.<\/p>\n
Russian authorities say the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia territories, often referred to by Moscow officials as the \u201cnew regions,\u201d have over 3.5 million voters. They were annexed by Russia in September 2022, despite not fully being under Moscow\u2019s control. The move has not been recognized internationally.<\/p>\n
At one polling station in the Russian-held part of the Donetsk region, voters dropped their ballots in a box as an armed Russian soldier stood nearby and watched.<\/p>\n
Putin stressed the importance of voting in the regions<\/p>\n
In a speech Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the importance of balloting in those regions for the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. Residents there will be voting for the Duma \u201cfor the first time since their reunification with Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n
He noted that Russian soldiers involved in the fighting also will vote.<\/p>\n
Voting also is taking place in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.<\/p>\n
The first wartime election to the State Duma is intended to secure the Kremlin\u2019s political dominance and showcase public support for the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour choice and resolve will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our fighters, that we are a united people, bound by shared values, historical memory, and love for the Motherland and that nobody can divide or intimidate us, undermine our statehood and political system,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n
Ukraine urges other countries not to recognize the vote<\/strong><\/p>\n Authorities in Kyiv called the voting in those territories illegal and urged foreign governments and international organizations not to recognize the election. They warned Ukrainians that taking part in organizing the vote could carry criminal liability.<\/p>\n A coalition of nine Ukrainian human rights groups called on residents of the Russia-held territories to stay away from the polls.<\/p>\n \u201cWe urge residents of the temporarily occupied territories, above all, to protect their lives and health and to look after their own safety,\u201d the coalition said in a statement. \u201cHolding Russian elections in the temporarily occupied territories is an attempt to use the electoral process to legitimize the Russian occupation and the attempted annexation of Ukrainian territories.\u201d<\/p>\n European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said the voting in Russian-held regions represented \u201canother blatant violation of international law. The European Union does not, and will never recognize either the holding of these, so-called elections, sham elections, in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or their results.\u201d<\/p>\n Activists describe coercion to vote<\/strong><\/p>\n Violeta Artemchuk, coordinator of the Donbas SOS human rights group who was among those who signed the statement, said members of local election commissions were going house to house, escorted by Russian troops and security agents, to force people to vote.<\/p>\n Moscow-appointed authorities exert pressure on residents, threatening those who work in the public sector with dismissal if they fail to vote and making pensions and other social payments conditional on participating, Artemchuk said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor instance, if a person with a disability or a pensioner relies on social assistance and does not take part in the \u2018voting,\u2019 they could be added to a list of individuals deemed \u2018disloyal\u2019 to the so-called authorities and subsequently deprived of their benefits or humanitarian assistance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst with the Kyiv-based Penta Center, emphasized that \u201celections held at gunpoint are a farce.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe very fact that voting takes place amid endless shelling and bombing reflects the Kremlin\u2019s attitude toward the people and the electoral process in the occupied territories,\u201d Fesenko told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nothing short of a mockery. Any electoral procedures conducted by the Russian occupation authorities have nothing to do with democracy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n