Today is the first day of voting in Russia's presidential election, which will last for three days. The CEC has registered four candidates: incumbent President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma and member of the New People party Vladislav Davankov, LDPR party chairman Leonid Slutsky, and Communist Party deputy Nikolai Kharitonov.
European politicians commented on the event.
The President of the European Council Charles Michel congratulated Vladimir Putin in advance on his victory in the pseudo-elections that have just begun in Russia. This was reported in Michel's Twitter post.
Would like to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his landslide victory in the elections starting today.
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) March 15, 2024
No opposition.
No freedom.
No choice.
"I would like to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his landslide victory in the elections starting today. No opposition. No freedom. No choice," he wrote.
Voting for the presidency began today and will continue until March 17. No candidate who has openly opposed the war in Ukraine has been allowed to participate in the elections.
The European Union and NATO question the legitimacy of the presidential elections in Russia.
The press secretary of the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that it is difficult to imagine a free, fair and democratic vote in modern Russia.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted that "the elections in Russia will not be free and fair."
Alexei Navalny's widow Yulia has called on the international community not to recognize the elections in Russia. A victory in the vote would allow Vladimir Putin to rule the country until 2030, longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
Also, at one of the polling stations in Moscow, a girl poured dye into a ballot box, the Moscow Department of the IC reports.
According to the Baza telegram channel, the incident occurred in Maryino. The girl went to the building with a can of brilliant green and poured it into the ballot box.
On the morning of March 15, similar incidents occurred in Borisoglebsk, Voronezh region. According to the "Bloknot Borisoglebsk", ballot boxes in the South-Eastern and Northern micro-districts of the city were filled with green paint.
The Borisoglebsk TEC reported that members of the precinct commission had sealed the slots of the boxes and installed other ballot boxes, and voting continued. Later they will check whether the colored ballots can be considered valid.
In addition, said Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Nikolai Bulayev, in Rostov and Karachay-Cherkessia, ink was poured into ballot boxes; according to Bulayev, people were promised a reward for this. He asked for increased security at polling stations.
Also today, we reported that in the Russian city of Belgorod, unknown persons planted explosives at a polling station. An explosion occurred during the voting for the Russian president. The video was posted online.
Earlier, we reported that the Russian imitation of the so-called "presidential elections" in the occupation demonstrates further blatant disregard for the norms and principles of international law.
At a meeting on Thursday, March 14, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution to appeal to the governments and parliaments of foreign countries, international organizations, and parliamentary assemblies in connection with the illegal holding of Russia's presidential "elections" in the occupied territory of Ukraine.
As reported by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the Rada asks to condemn Russia's actions in organizing and conducting the vote in the TOT. The partners are also urged to counter Russia's attempts to attract international observers to the TOT to legitimize the "elections".
The resolution also contains the following appeals:
- to impose sanctions against those involved in the organization of illegal elections in the TOT;
- to consolidate the efforts of all Ukraine's partners to increase military assistance to the Defense Forces;
- to take an active part in the implementation of President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also condemns the process of "elections" that the Russian Federation is trying to hold in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, as well as in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine considers these "elections" to be legally invalid and condemns the actions of the Russian Federation as a violation of international law.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasizes that any results of these "pseudo-elections" are illegal and have no legal force. Forcing Ukrainian citizens living in the occupied territories to participate in these "elections" violates their rights and freedoms. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on all Ukrainians living in the occupied territories to avoid participating in this farce and to protect their safety.
Ukraine also calls on the international community not to recognize these "elections", to refrain from providing international observers and to not recognize any results that may be announced. The Russian Federation has no right to organize an election process on the territory it has illegally occupied and annexed.
In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calls on international media and public figures not to contribute to the dissemination of information about these "elections" as a legitimate process. By condemning these "elections," the international community shows support for Ukraine in its fight against aggression and occupation.
