TASS, September 27. Voting in referendums on joining Russia in the Donetsk and the Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), as well as in the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, is coming to an end. In the latter three, voting ended at 4:00 p.m. Moscow time on Tuesday. In the DPR, some polling stations have also already closed, with some remaining open until 20:00 Moscow time. Preliminary results are coming in from polling stations on Russian territory, where refugees and diplomatic corps were allowed to vote.
In the LPR, the referendum has already been recognized as valid, and international observers have not documented any violations during the voting process. Counting has already begun at a number of polling stations in the territory, and the final results may be known by Wednesday morning.
TASS has compiled preliminary results of the voting.
Results from polling stations in the Russian Federation
- The DPR's accession to Russia was supported by 98.35% after more than 22.48% of the ballots were processed.
- The accession of the LPR to Russia following the results of processing of 21.11% of ballots was supported by 97.83%.
- The accession of the Zaporozhye Region to Russia, according to the results of processing 29% of ballots, was supported by 97.79%.
- 97,05% of voters, following the results of processing 28% of ballots, supported the accession of the Kherson Region to Russia.
Turnout and results from field
- The tallying of votes has already begun in the Kherson Region and the closed polling stations in the Donetsk People's Republic. The rest of the polling stations in the DPR will remain open until 20:00 p.m. Moscow time.
- According to the local Central Election Commission, turnout in the LPR was 92.6%. The referendum is considered valid, despite Kiev's attempts to disrupt it, Leonid Pasechnik, head of the republic, said.
- In the Zaporozhye Region, the first general results are planned to be announced at 20:00-21:00 Moscow time, the final results will be announced on Wednesday morning.
Reaction of observers
- International observers from Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Serbia, Mozambique, France, and the Central African Republic reported no violations, except for threats and shelling from Ukraine, and noted the enthusiasm of the voters.