Ukraine Threatens Prosecution of Election Observers in Occupied Territories Amid Russia’s 2024 Elections

Kyiv –

Ukraine angry after Russia made four of its regions, which are now occupied by Russia, part of the electoral districts (dapil) for the 2024 Russian elections. Ukraine threatened to prosecute any election observers sent to the region.

Reported Reuters, Sunday (10/12/2023), the Russian Presidential election will be held in 2024, including in the Russian occupied territories. Ukraine declared the election should be ‘null and void’.

Russia’s Upper House has set presidential elections for March 2024 and its chairman, Valentina Matviyenko, said residents of four Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions could elect Russia’s president for the first time.

Russia claims to have annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions in eastern and southern Ukraine in a referendum last year. However, the referendum was considered a sham by the Ukrainian government and Western countries. Russia also seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

“We call on the international community to unequivocally condemn Russia’s intention to hold presidential elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and impose sanctions against those involved in their organization and actions,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The report also warned other countries against sending observers to ‘fake elections’. Ukraine said that violators would ‘face criminal responsibility’.

“Any elections in Russia have nothing to do with democracy. They only serve as a tool to keep the Russian regime in power,” the ministry said.

Putin Prepares to Run for Presidential Election Again

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has announced that he will run again in the 2024 elections. This candidacy opens up the opportunity for Putin to rule for five terms as President of Russia and further expand his powers until 2030.

Reported by AFP), Putin, who is currently 71 years old, has held important positions in Russia since 1999 and won four Russian presidential elections. He briefly served as Prime Minister (PM) and President of Russia in a system where opposition was almost non-existent.

Putin made the official announcement regarding his candidacy for re-election as President of Russia on Friday (8/12) local time. At that time, Putin attended a Kremlin event which was also attended by military personnel including troops who had been deployed in fighting in Ukraine since the invasion was launched in February last year.

“I will not hide it, I have different thoughts at different times. But this is the time when decisions must be taken,” Putin said at the ceremony.

“I will run for President of the Russian Federation,” said Putin, announcing his re-election bid.

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(haf/lyre)

2023-12-10 15:19:01
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