MEPs condemn repressive elections in Russia and voting in occupied parts of Ukraine

Leading Members of the European Parliament today condemned the parliamentary elections in the Russian Federation held from September 18-20 and their illegal conduct in the occupied parts of Ukraine, calling on the EU and its member states not to recognize the legality of these elections and to consider their results null and void.

The MEPs expressed regret that the elections were conducted “in an extremely repressive environment, without political competition, with the criminalization and elimination of the opposition, strict control of state media, and the absence of independent international observers.”

In their statement, the MEPs strongly condemned the illegal holding of what they called “so-called elections” in the occupied territory of Ukraine, in flagrant violation of international law, especially the UN Charter, as well as the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

“Fake elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine… were conducted under a state of emergency, with coercion, forced issuance of passports, door-to-door vote collection in the presence of armed men, and reliable reports of serious human rights violations,” the MEPs stated.

The MEPs condemned the growing systematic repression by the Russian authorities and the violation of civil and political rights in the Russian Federation, which reached a peak in the occupied territory of Ukraine, as well as the persecution and intimidation of political opponents, independent journalists, civil society, ethnic minorities, and citizens opposed to the war.

They particularly condemned the exclusion of the opposition party Yabloko from the electoral lists for the Duma and regional elections, the politically motivated removal of its candidates, as well as the “farcical” sentences handed down to Yabloko deputy chairmen Lev Shlosberg and Maksim Kruglov immediately before the elections.

Yabloko is the only registered party that openly advocates for ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, and its elimination from the ballot reveals the authorities’ intent to suppress any possibility of dissent, the MEPs stated.

They called for the immediate release of Shlosberg and Kruglov, as well as all political prisoners and those imprisoned for exercising civil and political rights, and for the restoration of freedom of expression and association in Russia.

They strongly condemned the decision of the Russian authorities not to invite OSCE/ODIHR observers, assessing this as a serious violation of the obligations Russia undertook within the OSCE, and reminded that this is the third consecutive electoral cycle in which these obligations have not been fulfilled.

They also pointed out that this is particularly concerning because, with the shutdown of the Golos movement in Russia, independent domestic election observation has been suppressed.

The MEPs called on the EU to continue supporting Russian pro-democracy civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and independent media, and reiterated their support for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine and its internationally recognized borders.

“Russia must end its unjust aggressor war against Ukraine and immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw its military forces and equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine,” the MEPs emphasized.

The statement was signed by the Chair of the Parliament’s Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee Ville Niinistö, the Standing Rapporteur for Russia of the Foreign Affairs Committee Sandra Kalniete, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for EU-Ukraine Association Pekka Toveri, and the Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Sergey Lagodinsky.