Elections in Donbass - The First Step to Peace in Ukraine

LONDON and MOSCOW, November 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

- Deputy of European Parliament: "Elections in Donbass create opportunity for dialogue with the world community" 

- International observers point to transparency and legitimacy of elections in the self-proclaimed republics of the South-East of Ukraine. 

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) continue the count of votes for the elections of the heads and members of the councils of people's deputies. On November 3 the central electoral commissions are expected to announce the final results of the will expressed by the population of Donbass.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141103/713824 )

Meanwhile, the turnover allows recognizing the election as valid. The Central Electoral Commission of Lugansk People's Republic managed to announce the voter turnout right after closure of the precincts. The total number of voters in the LPR amounted to 698,941 people, which makes up 68.7% of the number of registered voters (1,027,012 million people). The observers estimate that in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic the turnout was about 85%. 1,148,953 million citizens were entered into the electoral lists.

The elections in the South-East of Ukraine were observed by over 70 international monitors from the USA, Austria, Belgium, Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Greece.

Fabrizio Bertot, a deputy of the European Parliament from Italy, and a member of the international group of observers made a comment on the results of the elections to Novorossia press center.

"I saw people who were happy to vote and took pride in it. The voting system was absolutely legal and corresponded to all international standards. I think that this day opens space for dialogue between international institutions, especially the European ones, with the government of the DPR and LPR. We cannot neglect the political weight of these elections. The traditional Ukrainian government, the newly elected government of the DPR and LPR, Russian and European governments can and must begin a dialogue on a new level," informed Fabrizio Bertot.

The other international observers also reported that the elections took place without serious violations, in full compliance with the European electoral practice.

Frank Abernathy, a lawyer, who was a member of the US Congress, and now is a director of US-Ukraine Observer pointed to the importance of raising global public awareness of the fact that the elections in Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics were held in conformity with all international standards.

"Hopefully, the presence of international observers will contribute to recognition of these elections as open and democratic. The principal objective of our presence is to watch that everything was transparent and open. We are responsible for it," pointed Mr. Abernathy.

The elections, which took place Sunday, will contribute to legitimization of authorities of the self-proclaimed republics, which will prevent Kiev from attempting to settle the problems of the South-East of Ukraine by force, believe the experts.

SOURCE Press-centre «Novorossia»