Contents tagged with Elections

  • Committee of Voters of Ukraine: It is impossible to hold elections in the Donbas

    Elections in the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk will not happen for at least a few more years, as stated by the Chairman of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, Oleksiy Koshel.

    According to him, some reasons for this are the ongoing conflict, an armed population and a lack of a voter registry. “Another issue is that there may be expatriates who might decide to come back. They also have the right to vote. These issues first need to be resolved. Also, more than a year is needed to …

  • Nuland: The US insists that Ukraine grant ‘special status’ to separatist republics

    The US insists that Ukraine make changes to the constitution, which would grant “special status” to the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, Novoye Vremya reported.

    This position was reportedly voiced by Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland during a meeting with representatives of parliamentary factions in Kiev on Tuesday.

    The US also insists that Ukraine hold elections in the Donbas region in the near future. 

    Victoria Voytsitska, a Deputy from the Samopomoch (Self-Reliance) …

  • Poroshenko affirms conditions for elections in the Donbas

    The holding of local elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions is only possible with the improvement of regional security, the participation of the OSCE, and the transfer of control over the self-proclaimed republics to Ukraine, as stated by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

    “We are interested in unlocking the political process and holding local elections in Donbas. However, these elections are possible only under several conditions," Poroshenko said. He added that “Ukraine’s struggle …

  • Kazakhstan’s ruling party wins election

    Early parliamentary elections were held on Sunday in Kazakhstan, resulting in to a clear victory of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s ruling party with 81 percent of the votes. The Central Election Commission stated that voters were particularly active this year, with no less than 77 percent of eligible citizens participating.

    Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, on December 1991, no elections in Kazakhstan have been recognized as “fair” and “free” by Western countries or international …

  • Separatist leader: Elections in the Donbas in accordance with Ukrainian legislation are impossible

    The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, reported on Friday on the separatists' website that it is impossible to hold elections under Ukrainian law on the territory of the Donbass region.

    "We have insisted and continue to insist that the elections in the Republic should be held according to the international standards of the OSCE. Such international standards suit us and Europe as well as all the world community, which completely fits the …

  • Poroshenko considers holding referendum on autonomy for Luhansk and Donetsk

    The first Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Zerkalo Nedeli, Sergey Rahmanin, wrote an article in which he cited a source that stated that the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, is considering holding a referendum to allow the citizens of Ukraine to decide on the autonomy of breakaway territories of the Donbas. According to him, this referendum would be an alternative to elections in the separated areas of Donetsk and Lugansk Regions.

    “According to our sources, Poroshenko occasionally returns …

  • Ukrainian representative in Minsk urges Europe to focus on the safety of the people in the Donbas, not elections

    The German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has said that elections in the occupied Donbas region will be held within the next months.  However, the Ukrainian representative to the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, Roman Bezsmertnyi, has urged Europe to think primarily about the safety of the people in the region,  and not about elections.

    “Until now, only the processes of the elections have been discussed in Minsk and not the electoral law.  These elections are out of the question …

  • Russian journalists may require accreditation to observe elections at polling stations

    Russian Duma Deputy Dmitry Vyatkin has proposed amendments to legislation that would require journalists to be accredited in order to cover election day news at the polling stations, as reported by Vyatkin, the Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, to the Gazeta.ru news site.

    The amendments wouldn’t allow candidates and non-profit organizations to send their observers to the polling stations under the guise of media staff. Only reporters or …

  • Pro-Russian separatists are no longer in a hurry to hold elections in Eastern Ukraine

    The leaders of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) previously stated that they sought to hold elections in the spring. A representative of the so-called LPR, however, recently said that the elections can be conducted no sooner than December.

    Vladislav Deinego, the representative of self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, made the announcement during the forum entitled "Minsk Agreements as the Basis of Donbas Sovereignty".

    According to Deinego, …

  • Russian Delegation Demands Amnesty and Elections for Breakaway Regions in Eastern Ukraine

    On Monday, January 11th, Boris Gryzlov, the permanent representative of Russia to the Trilateral Contact Group, visited Kiev where he brought the Kremlin’s offer concerning the end of the war in the Donbas. According to Apostrophe, the Ukrainian contingent was not satisfied with the proposal.

    According to sources, one of the main issues was the topic of elections in certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Gryzlov stated that it would not matter to the Russians which election …