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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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| Information | | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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11May14
Referendums held in Ukraine's Donetsk, Lugansk regions on independence
Local residents in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions went to the polls on Sunday in referendums aimed at seeking independence from the country.
People were asked on the ballot: "Do you support the act of state-rule of the Donestk (Lugansk) People's Republic?"
Some 2,900 polling stations will remain open from 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) to 10 p.m. (1900 GMT) in the two self-proclaimed republics.
If the majority of local population votes to secede from Ukraine, organizers intend to hold a second round on May 18, which will ask voters whether they want to join Russia.
About 3 million ballots have been distributed in towns and cities in the two regions with a total population of 6.6 million. Organizers said no minimum turnout is required for the result.
Ukrainian authorities and some Western countries denounced the controversial referendums as "illegal."
Donetsk and Lugansk regions became an epicenter of the eastern protests in mid-April, when activists waving Russian flags seized government buildings, declared separatist republics and announced plans to hold a referendum on seceding from Ukraine.
The referendums were held after Crimea joined Russia on March 18 following an independence referendum in the southern Ukraine peninsula which was not recognized by the West.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the protesters in Donetsk and Lugansk to postpone their referendums and seek dialogue with Ukrainian authorities.
[Source: Xinhua, Kiev, 11May14]
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