#Russian commission says ruling party won most votes in occupied Ukraine regions in disputed elections

Russia’s Central Election Commission said Monday the country’s ruling party has won the most votes in elections in occupied Ukrainian regions, elections that Kyiv and international observers dismiss as complete shams.

The voting for Russian-installed legislatures in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and on the Crimean Peninsula began last week and ended on Sunday, according to The Associated Press. 

The election results come amid Russia’s attempts to maintain a tight hold on the regions the country illegally annexed last year, but does not fully control.

Voting for Russia-installed legislatures took place at the same weekend as other elections in Russia. 

In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin was reelected, beating other Kremlin-backed parties with more than 76 percent of the vote, state media reported. 

Kyiv pushed back against the elections, with Ukraine’s parliament calling them a threat to Ukrainian lives in areas where Russia “conducts active hostilities,” according to the AP. 

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the elections, calling their results “null and void.” 

Western countries echoed this sentiment, claiming the elections violate international law.

“We strongly reject this further futile attempt by Russia to legitimize or normalize its illegal military control and attempted annexation of parts of Ukrainian territories,” the European Commission said Monday in a statement.

Ella Pamfilova, the head of Russia’s Central Election Commission, reportedly said the turnout, including Russia and the occupied Ukrainian regions averaged 43.5 percent, marking the highest since 2017, the AP reported. 

Russian state news agency TASS reported turnout was even higher in the illegally annexed region of Kherson, with a turnout of 62.68 percent as of Sunday, according to Marina Zakharova, the chair of the regional election commission. 

Kherson is not under complete control from Russia and has remained the target of numerous Russian attacks in the past year. 

Along with other polling areas, it reported sabotage attempts at polling stations over the weekend.

The AP reported a Russian-appointed official in Kherson said a live grenade was discovered near a polling station, while Denis Pushilin, the acting head of the Russian-occupied parts of the Donetsk region, said polling staff was “wounded and injured,” without providing further details. 

Residents and Ukrainian activists alleged Russian poll workers made house calls with armed soldiers in some illegally annexed regions and detained those who refuse to vote, pressuring them into writing “explanatory statements” that could be used for grounds in a criminal case. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.