MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. The overwhelming majority of people in the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republics as well as the Zaporozhye and the Kherson Regions voted to join Russia, with the results of the referendums showing a very high turnout.
The referendum ballots in all the four regions have been considered valid. The heads of the regions are planning to officially ask Russia’s leadership to admit them on Wednesday. The DPR leader is the only one that beat the others to the punch, having already asked the Kremlin to do so.
The voting took place from September 23 to September 27. In the first four days, mobile election commissions toured schools, theaters and residential areas and conducted door-to-door ballot collection for security reasons amid the ever-present danger of Ukrainian shelling. On the last day of the referendum, voters were invited to special polling stations. Refugees could cast their vote in Russia.
Below are the results of the referendums:
Turnout
- In the Kherson Region, 571,001 people took part, or 78.86% of the population.
- In the Zaporozhye Region, 541,093 people cast their ballots, or 85.4% of the total number of voters
- The LPR reported a turnout rate of 94.15%, with 1,662,607 people having cast their votes.
- Turnout in the DPR where 2,131,207 people participated in the voting hit 97.51%.
Final results
- In the Kherson Region, 87.05% of those who voted opted for joining Russia (497,051 people), with 12.05% (68,832) opposing the idea.
- In the Zaporozhye Region, the initiative was supported by 93.11% of voters (430,268 people).
- In the DPR, 99.23% of the electorate said they would favor uniting with Russia.
- In the LPR, 98.42% of the participants in the referendum voted for joining Russia.
What’s next?
- DPR leader Denis Pushilin has already submitted his request to the Russian authorities asking that his republic be allowed to join Russia as a separate constituent member. He also said he was getting ready for a trip to Russia.
- LPR leader Leonid Pasechnik is planning to do the same later on Wednesday.
- Authorities in the Zaporozhye Region will also ask the Russian president to admit their region to the Russian Federation. Head of the Kherson Region’s military-civilian administration, Vladimir Saldo, has announced his intentions to address the Russian leadership after the referendum, without revealing precisely when he will do so.
- The United States and the entire European Union, as well as Germany, Canada and Japan have already stated they will not recognize the results of the vote.
- The United States has prepared a draft resolution asking the UN Security Council to condemn the referendums. Washington expects to put it to a vote later this week or early next week.