Back
Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) urged not to recognize the new Russian State Duma as a democratically elected parliament and a legitimate governing body in light of violations during the elections held on 18–20 September. This is stated in PACE's declaration.
The Assembly highlighted the suppression of political opposition in Russia, restrictions on access to independent information, the absence of conditions for real political competition, and voter intimidation during the State Duma elections. PACE separately pointed to the denial of entry to elections for the party 'Apple,' which runs an anti-war platform, and the absence of international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
“The Assembly condemns fake observers sent to Russia to manipulate the elections. PACE is especially concerned about the participation of citizens from EU member states and the presence of pseudo-observers in the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine,” the statement says.
PACE condemned Russia’s illegal conduct of so-called elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. It noted that such “voting” is illegitimate and has no legal force, and those responsible for organizing them should be held accountable.
The Assembly also condemned the organization of elections in the Transnistria region of Moldova and in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia.
PACE stated that the new State Duma cannot be considered independent from the Russian executive power. The Assembly recalled that the State Duma supported Russian aggression against Ukraine, and the elections cannot restore democratic legitimacy of the parliament.
The Assembly advocated limiting contacts with the new Duma and introducing sanctions against the organizers of the elections. It also proposed restricting the movement of accredited Russian diplomats and officials within the Schengen area, and establishing a permanent limit on issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens.
As reported by Yevheniia Kravchuk, a member of the permanent delegation of the Ukrainian parliament to PACE (Servant of the People faction), the resolution was supported by 59 deputies, and none voted against.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "ПАРЄ закликала визнати нелегітимною Держдуму РФ". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Gordon.
