Already in a month, the Russian invaders plan to hold illegal presidential elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Thus, the Russians want to create the illusion of legitimacy of the occupied territories and force the local population to believe in a propaganda narrative that “Russia is here forever.”
It is obvious that this pseudo-elections, as well as the past attempts of the occupiers to hold “referendums”, violate the norms of international law and human rights in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) of Ukraine. The conclusion of the Venice Commission, 2019, on a legal nullity of the elections to the RF State Duma, which took place in the TOT of Ukraine in 2016, demonstrated the international community’s strong condemnation of Russia’s illegal and criminal actions. Also, elections on the TOT violate the UN Charter, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Therefore, no elected body or elected office of the Russian Federation, which will be elected on the TOT, cannot be recognized as legitimate.
The Russian occupiers use all possible methods of pressure on the local population to encourage them to participate in illegal elections. The Russian authorities use forced passporting of TOT residents, threatening them and their family members, preventing employment and social assistance. It is also known about forced passporting of minors, refusal of which costs them access to education.
The Russian practice of “mobile voting station” is the most cruel and life-threatening for the population on the TOT. The occupiers formed hundreds of such stations which are used in yards, crowded places, and apartments. Ballot boxes were placed on benches near entrances, public transport stops, on car hoods and in markets. Together with the so-called workers of the polling stations, there were also armed security forces, allegedly for the protection of “mobile groups”. However, it is known about repeated cases of not only psychological but also physical pressure on people.
For example, in the village of Ulianivka, Kherson Region, local residents were forced to vote at gunpoint during a pseudo-referendum held in September 2023. For 3 “members of the election commission”, the occupation authorities assigned 6-8 Russian security forces with assault rifles. They entered every house and pointed where to put a mark. It is obvious that in such conditions there can be no question of democratic expression of will.
Any attempts by the local population to oppose the occupiers have been met with threats and weapons against the dissenting residents. According to the NGO Eastern Human Rights Group, at the beginning of September 2023, security forces detained at least 5 people who refused to “vote” in various settlements of Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia region and forced them to write explanations. The number of people who ended up in Russian torture chambers are unknown. However, considering the number of crimes that became known after the deoccupation of Kharkiv and part of Kherson regions, the statistics are very disappointing.
Russia has not received a necessary punishment for past episodes of illegal elections and referendums in the temporarily occupied territories, which were accompanied by numerous violations of international law and human rights. Therefore, it is obvious that the illegal elections of the President of the Russian Federation, which will take place in a month, will also be accompanied by pressure on the local population, threats and intimidation, violation of the realization of the manifestation of will.
Such a flagrant violation of the norms of international law and human rights cannot be unpunished for the Russian Federation. The strengthening of anti-Russian sanctions and the beginning of the procedure for Russia’s exclusion from the UN Security Council will be the first step to save hundreds of thousands of lives of the population of the Commonwealth of Independent States who suffer from Russian terror.