The European Parliament will not observe the ongoing Russian presidential “elections” and will not comment on either the process or the results.
This is stated in a statement by the co-chairs of the European Parliament’s Democracy and Electoral Coordination Group, MEPs David McAllister and Tomasz Tobé.
“The European Parliament will not observe this electoral process and, therefore, will not comment on either the process or the results that will be announced later. No individual member of the European Parliament has been authorised to observe or comment on this electoral process on its behalf, neither on the territory of the Russian Federation nor on the illegally annexed territory of Crimea or the territories of Ukraine illegally occupied by Russia,” the statement reads.
According to the MEPs, if any member of the European Parliament decides to comment on these elections, he or she will do so “on his or her own initiative and under no circumstances should associate the European Parliament with it by any statements or actions”.
The simulation of the so-called “presidential elections” will take place over three days – from 15 to 17 March 2024.
In December, the Central Election Commission of the aggressor country Russia adopted a resolution to hold presidential elections in March 2024 in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
On 14 March, the heads of the foreign affairs committees of 20 countries issued a joint statement rejecting the legitimacy of the Russian presidential “elections” held in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The joint statement was signed by the chairmen of the committees from 20 countries – Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Germany, Moldova, Poland, Israel, the United States, Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Romania, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The parliamentarians stressed that Russia had organised “elections” that coincided with the 10th anniversary of the illegal annexation of Crimea, “which is a clear provocation”.
Following this, the US State Department also stated that the United States does not and will never recognise the legitimacy or results of Russia’s fake elections in sovereign Ukraine.
Source: The Gaze
