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Kiev Has No Grounds to Contest Referendums – Crimean Official

© RIA Novosti . Evgeny Biyatov / Go to the mediabankDonetsk and Lugansk regions hold referendum on self-determination
Donetsk and Lugansk regions hold referendum on self-determination - Sputnik International
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The authorities in Kiev have no grounds to challenge the results of Sunday’s referendums in southeastern Ukraine as no one has a moral right to obstruct a popular vote, a deputy chairman of the Crimean State Council told RIA Novosti.

SIMFEROPOL, May 12 (RIA Novosti) – The authorities in Kiev have no grounds to challenge the results of Sunday’s referendums in southeastern Ukraine as no one has a moral right to obstruct a popular vote, a deputy chairman of the Crimean State Council told RIA Novosti.

“People are the main source of power in a democratic state, that’s why no one has a moral right to resist holding a referendum and moreover, to contest its results,” Konstantin Bakharev said.

“There are no grounds to doubt the expression of the will of the people in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. That’s why we fully acknowledge the results of the referendum,” Bakharev added.

The Kiev regime launched a military operation last month to crack down on pro-federalization activists, but failed to prevent the referendums in the southeastern Ukrainian regions on Sunday despite violent clashes that led to dozens of victims across southeastern Ukraine.

According to preliminary results announced by election authorities on Monday, up to 98 percent of registered voters took part in the referendums in the Luhansk Region, and around 90 percent in Donetsk Region.

Crimea, which joined Russia in mid-March after a referendum in which more than 96 percent of local voters supported secession from Ukraine, fully supports their counterparts in southeastern Ukraine, Bakharev said.

The Crimean lawmaker did not rule out that other Ukrainian regions, where “the rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens are being trampled by the Kiev junta," could follow in their footsteps.

The referendums in the southeastern regions on Sunday were held in difficult conditions as the Kiev regime had launched a campaign of intimidation, including repressions against protest leaders and using troops and irregular Right Sector gunmen against peaceful citizens.

The vote was organized by Ukrainian federalization supporters, who have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the country’s interim government and have called for greater autonomy, following a change of power in Ukraine in late February.

The authorities in Kiev launched a special military operation to crack down on the protesters, resulting in dozens of casualties throughout the region.

Moscow repeatedly condemned Kiev’s operation as a very dangerous development with Russian President Vladimir Putin urging pro-federalization activists to put off the referendum to ensure the start of national dialogue to resolve the ongoing crisis.

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