Some international observers monitored the parliamentary elections, but all European countries, as well as the United States and Canada, and European international organizations, refused to send observers to Crimea.
Hanna Hopko: Memo to the West – reject Russia’s illegal Duma elections
On September 18, Russians went to the polls to elect 450 members of parliament. The big news is that Vladimir Putin's United Russia performed surprisingly well, taking approximately 54 percent of the vote. But the underreported news is this: Russians elected four MPs from occupied Ukrainian Crimea, which is illegal and grossly violates international law. The Ukrainian parliament does not recognize the Duma elections as legitimate and urges the international community to reject the results altogether; recognizing them will legalize the ongoing occupation of Crimea and their acquiescence undermines the rule of law. Officials in Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, and the United States have already announced that they won't recognize the results of the illegal polls in Crimea, and we thank them for their unwavering support and expect others to join them.
