LUGANSK, September 27. /TASS/. International observers think that the referendum on the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) joining Russia was valid with no detected violations.
According to international observer, State Duma delegate Sergey Ten, the referendum was held in compliance with legislation. "On behalf of everyone, I am congratulating everyone on the valid referendum, we already know the preliminary figures on a turnout. That said, we are saying that the referendum was held in accordance with the requirements of the election legislation," the Russian lawmaker said.
He specified that the international observers worked in the LPR and DPR, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions. "In all, in addition to the Russian Federation, the delegates of 45 countries from five continents are monitoring [the referendums]," he emphasized.
According to Mexican writer Israel Arconada Gomez, the international observers did not record any facts "of pressure and bribing" at the referendum in the LPR. He added that "holding a referendum is a step of the political settlement of a conflict, the implementation of the people’s right to self-determination guaranteed by the UN Charter," noting that nobody was forced to participate. "The referendum was organized in accordance with accepted standards," he added.
German political scientist Christoph Hoerstel who came to observe the referendum in the DPR thinks that the stance of Western media outlets is hypocritical. "Germany’s media outlets are calling this a ‘fake referendum.’ I am shocked because the slaughter of these people [Donbass residents] is not fake, pressure is not fake, difficulties with getting pensions, bombings, the water blockade - all of this is not fake but the referendum is, for some reason. This stance is hypocritical," he noted.
Thierry Saint-Hermes, an observer from France who monitored the referendum in the LPR said that its results speak against the West’s stance. "The results of this referendum play against the West. For the first time in the 21st century, the will of the people will be victorious in this global fight," he said.
The international observers think that Western countries will not recognize the referendums’ results. "This referendum has not been coordinated with Western countries. I hate those countries, they destroyed Syria. And they did it using their fake news outlets. The Western world turned into a world of criminals," says Mais al-Kridi, an observer from Syria.
According to expert in the sphere of international law and geopolitics Marco Pata, an observer from Italy, the main risks for the observers were posed not by Ukrainian bombings but by the actions of Ukrainian saboteurs. "We were present as the international observers in the Zaporozhye Region and here’s what we saw: I would like to say that the problem was not with artillery, many people are afraid not of Ukrainian artillery - the problem is with the Ukrainian saboteurs, reconnaissance groups. The people were afraid to show their faces to journalists worried that they might be spotted by the saboteurs," he stated.
Holding the referendum on the DPR joining Russia turns a new leaf, Misa Vacic, an observer from Serbia said at a briefing at the DPR’s Central Election Commission. "The sounds of explosions, unfortunately, have been part of the local residents’ real life for eight years already. Their suffering will continue for just a couple of days. This is the end of the era of suffering and the beginning of a new era," he explained.
The referendums in the DPR, the LPR, the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions were held on September 23-27. Currently, ballots are being counted. In the LPR, the voter turnout was at 92.16%.