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International observers note transparency of voting at referendums on joining Russian

Spanish observer Enrique Acedo stressed that the process was "absolutely seamless and without incident"

MOSXCOW, September 27. /TASS/. International observers from Italy and Spain have noted the transparency of the voting process and the lack of violations at the referendums on the accession to Russia in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), and in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

"I did not see any violations during the voting. On the contrary, the process was organized quite well, with all security precautions taken. The voting proceeded calmly, people were coming to polling stations in good mood. Nothing negative was reported," Giuseppe Luca Genovese, a member of the international committee of Italy’s Lega Nord party, told a briefing on Tuesday.

Gianfranco Vestuto, an Italian journalist, TV host and Russia News editor-in-chief, noted that translucent ballot boxes at polling stations could be seen as an additional guarantee of the transparency of the electoral process. "We think that it is an absolutely historic reunification with Russia. It is in line with international law, the fundamental rights of people to self-determination, which are enshrined in the United Nations Charter," he stressed.

Another Italian observer, journalist Graziarosa Villani, said that her team had visited polling stations in Crimea and in Lugansk. "Some people were so glad about what was happening that they opted to vote absolutely openly, although the voting was secret. It was their choice. It convinced us that people had been waiting for it for a long time," she noted, adding that people were voting absolutely voluntarily, contrary to what was said in the West. "The only armed people we saw were the servicemen who escorted us, who ensured our security, plus people safeguarding law and order along the perimeter of polling stations. It is quite normal, policemen are present at polling stations in Italy too," she noted.

An observer from Spain, political analyst Enrique Acedo, who visited polling stations in Moscow, stressed that process was "absolutely problem-free, with no incidents."

The referendums on joining Russia kicked off in the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republics and in the liberated areas of the Kherson and the Zaporozhye Regions at 08:00 a.m. Moscow Time on September 23. Voting ended in the LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, and several polling stations in the DPR at 16:00 Moscow Time on September 27 and at 20:00 Moscow Time at a number of polling stations in the DPR.