Umerov: Crimean Tatars will not take part in Russian elections
The deputy chairman of the Crimean Tatar’s Mejlis, Ilmi Umerov, stated that Crimean Tatars will not take part in the Russian State Duma elections on September 18 in the Crimea.
“It is absolutely clear that the majority of Crimean Tatars will not take part in the elections. We urge them to do that. The organization of elections in the occupied territories will result in recognition of the invalidity of Russian elections and these are huge costs [for Russia],” Umerov said.
On September 8, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine addressed the parliaments of foreign states, parliamentary assemblies and international organizations with a request to refrain from monitoring the illegal parliamentary elections in the occupied Crimea and also not to recognize the election results under any circumstances.
In turn, the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin, to inform the leadership of the Russian Federation that holding elections on Ukrainian territory was prohibited. As previously reported, polling stations were supposed to be created in the Russian Embassy in Kyiv and Russian Consulates General in Kharkov, Lviv and Odessa on election day.