KHERSON, September 27. /TASS/. Kherson saw a massive turnout on the last day of the referendum on the region’s accession to Russia. Voters began to queue up from the first minutes the polling stations opened their doors in the morning, a TASS correspondent reported.
At a polling station in the building of a local school cheerful men and women began to gather long before the opening time. Many were heard congratulating each other on the long-awaited chance to exercise their free will.
"I have been waiting for this for 30 years. My whole family is in Russia. Everything will be much better now," said one of the voters.
After casting their ballots many stayed to celebrate outdoors, though the weather in Kherson was cloudy and an autumn drizzle hung in the air. A gala concert was held in the school yard next to the polling station. A large crowd, with almost everyone carrying Russian flags, gathered for the show to hear and sing patriotic songs.
Earlier, the authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as the administrations of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, decided to hold referendums on joining Russia in the capacity of constituent territories from September 23-27.
On Monday morning, the chairperson of the Kherson Region's election commission, Marina Zakharova, announced that the referendum in the region was recognized as valid, as the overall turnout had exceeded 50%. On the evening of the same day, she said that after four days of voting the turnout had risen to 63.58%.