Ukrainian breakaway sites hold criticized vote – The Herald
Critics argue the lax application of rules that oblige voters to be registered in the areas in which they cast their ballot could leave the way open to multiple voting or participation by non-locals.
A gunman dressed in military fatigues, who gave only his first name Alexander and the nom de guerre Raven, told AP at a polling station that despite being from Ukraine’s Odessa region, he should be allowed to vote. Russian citizens fighting with the rebels should also be given that right, he said.
“They can fight and die here. So how come they can’t vote here?” he said. Five minutes later, Alexander successfully cast his ballot.
Turnout appeared to be brisk, in part due to the limited number of polling stations available. More than 200 people were seen lining up outside one polling station Sunday morning in the east of Donetsk.
Lyubov Khatsko, 55, who came to vote from the town of Marinka, just west of Donetsk, expressed despair at the continued unrest rocking her hometown.
“We have the right to have our own election, our freedom and to live the way we want to. We want the Ukrainians to get out of here,” she said, speaking in Ukrainian.
The school where Khatsko cast her ballot was guarded by three armed rebels. An ammunition depot holding at least 20 automatic rifles was seen through an open door to a hall next to the room where the voting was taking place.
The election has been almost universally snubbed by international vote monitors, but a contingent of representatives from largely fringe Western and Russian political parties were observing the vote.
“As strange as it might sound, it is fine to hold elections in these conditions,” said Alexei Zhuravlev, a lawmaker with Russia’s Fatherland party. “This is the first step toward stabilizing the situation here. If we don’t do it, this (war) will continue.”
Ukrainian security spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Sunday that government military presence has been bolstered in residential areas and checkpoints near rebel-held zones ahead of the election.
Lysenko said that attacks on Ukrainian positions remain a constant occurrence and that military equipment and manpower is being intensively delivered into rebels areas from Russia.
A convoy of several dozen military trucks, including some carrying multiple missile launchers, was seen traveling Saturday along roads in the Donetsk region. Eight trucks matching that description were seen by an AP reporter in Donetsk.