Russia Holds Early State Duma Voting in Occupied Ukraine as Armed Troops Accompany Mobile Polling Teams

Russia has started early voting for its State Duma election in occupied parts of Ukraine, as election officials visited rural settlements with portable voting booths and ballot boxes. Members of Russia’s Central Election Commission, armed servicemen and police monitored the process in Russian-controlled Donetsk, according to Euronews on Monday, Sept. 14. Independent observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) were not present at the scene.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has ruled Russia for 26 years – longer than Joseph Stalin. During this time, his regime has systematically dismantled anything that resembled democracy,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Sept. 7, condemning the elections scheduled for Sept. 18-20. The upcoming elections will be Russia’s first national parliamentary elections held since the beginning of the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022. Mobile voting under heavy military guard According to a separate report from Euronews, the voting for Russian-installed legislatures had already concluded on Sunday, Sept. 13, in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions – parts of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Russian authorities have reportedly presented the early voting system as a security measure for frontline territories and said the arrangements were necessary under martial law imposed by Moscow. Other Topics of Interest Russian FPV Drone Strikes Bus in Zaporizhzhia, Injuring 5 All five victims were hospitalized, with one reported in serious condition. “For Russia… it is important to go on with the voting on the illusion of normalcy, despite the fact that the Kremlin does not have full control over the annexed regions,” political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said, according to Euronews. Limited political competition United Russia – the pro-Kremlin party holding a dominant position in Russian politics – is widely viewed as the leading force in the election. Russia’s Supreme Court barred the only registered liberal and openly anti-war party, Yabloko, from participating in September’s parliamentary elections on Aug. 10, while its deputy chairman, Lev Shlosberg, was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison on account of promoting “extremism” because of his public statements against the war. Despite its anti-war position, Yabloko is not pro-Ukrainian. The party is pushing for an immediate ceasefire that would leave the current front line largely intact. Still, it brought together not only traditional liberal voters but also servicemembers’ families, men concerned about being drafted, and citizens weary of mounting losses who oppose the continuation of Russia’s war, making it a thorn in the Kremlin’s side. According to Euronews, some residents of occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions welcomed the Russian authorities’ political efforts, framing the vote as familiar rather than new. “For the last nine years, we’ve been striving to get closer with Russia, and Russian politicians are well-known to us,” Sergei, a 47-year old resident of the occupied city of Luhansk said, asking that his last name be withheld for security reasons. “We’re speaking Russian and have felt like part of Russia for a long time, and these elections only confirm that,” he continued. In occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, a different environment was described. Local residents and Ukrainian activists said voters had limited information about the candidates, some of whom reportedly arrived from other regions of Russia, including Siberia and the Far East. Dead soldiers used in fabricated ballots The early balloting follows voting that reportedly began on Aug. 29, according to United24Media, who reported that Russian commanders also used the identities of soldiers killed in action to vote for the ruling United Russia party. Russian authorities allegedly delayed formally recording dead or missing soldiers as casualties. While their names remained on active unit lists, officers reportedly completed ballots in their names and delivered them to polling stations in occupied Melitopol, Berdiansk, and Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region. Kyiv Post has not independently verified the allegations. Kyiv rejects vote, while SBU urges residents not to participate Russia’s electoral process, held on occupied Ukrainian territory, represents a violation of international law. Kyiv has consistently urged international institutions and foreign governments not to recognize it. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) issued a statement on Monday, urging residents not to participate in the elections and warning that organizing or promoting the vote could lead to criminal liability under Ukrainian law. Under Part 5 of Article 111-1 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, the penalty includes up to 10 years in prison and confiscation of property. Do not “become an instrument of the Kremlin regime in the war against our state,” the agency wrote. According to the agency, Russian authorities had already used similar methods in earlier voting campaigns, specifically pointing to the sham referendums held in September 2022 in occupied parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. “Pseudo-elections” were also held for regional bodies in 2023, the agency said. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.