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Managing Every Detail, Separatists Prepare for Voting in Eastern Ukraine Amid Much Uncertainty, Separatists Prepare for Voting in Eastern Ukraine
(about 3 hours later)
DONETSK, Ukraine — Separatist groups in eastern Ukraine are vowing to press ahead with referendums on Sunday intended to legitimize two self-declared new countries in Europe — the people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk — though even officials in those places say they are not likely to be long-lived. DONETSK, Ukraine — A day before snap elections to try to legitimize two self-declared new countries in Europe, the preparations seemed as ad hoc as the votes themselves.
Those arranging the vote control a patchwork of roads and public buildings in the two Ukrainian provinces. The separatist groups in eastern Ukraine conducting the votes say they are as unfazed by the monumental task as they are by the international condemnation of elections that many outsiders say could not possibly be free and fair amid the chaos enveloping the region.
The voting poses a risk of escalating the conflict in Ukraine by entrenching the political wings of pro-Russian militant groups, while confronting the interim government in Kiev with the awkward task of arguing against the conduct of an election, or contesting its results. Ballots for the “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk were created on paper copiers, voting booths in one city were thrown together with red drapes stapled to wooden frames, and an election organizer said he was sure the vote would count because there was no rule for a minimum turnout.
Despite the slapdash nature of the elections, they pose a risk of escalating the smoldering conflict in Ukraine by entrenching the political wings of pro-Russian militant groups, while putting the interim government in Kiev in the awkward position of arguing against what organizers describe as a democratic vote.
“The results will legitimize us before the world community,” Roman Lyagin, the chairman of the central election committee of the self-declared Donetsk Republic, told a news conference here Saturday.“The results will legitimize us before the world community,” Roman Lyagin, the chairman of the central election committee of the self-declared Donetsk Republic, told a news conference here Saturday.
Mr. Lyagin said he had printed 3.1 million ballots that pose one question: “Do you support self-determination for the People’s Republic of Donetsk?” Mr. Lyagin said polling will take place in 1,527 sites in hospitals and schools secured by police sympathetic to the cause and volunteers. Mr. Lyagin said he had printed 3.1 million ballots that pose one question: “Do you support the act of self-rule for the People’s Republic of Donetsk?”
Pro-Russian activists in the Luhansk region to the east of here claimed they had made similar arrangements for a vote. Even in Donetsk, the wording had people baffled. Some interpret this phrase as a vote for more local autonomy, some for independence and still others as a step toward inviting annexation by Russia, following the example set in Crimea.
Voting started early Saturday at one school in Donetsk, for unclear reasons. After armed men threatened to kill a principal in the Luhansk region who did not want voting at her school, the central government said education officials should not take risks to oppose the polling. In Kiev, Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksander Turchynov, called the secession votes in the east “a step into the abyss” that threatened to escalate the violent clashes over the fate of eastern Ukraine into a civil war. Mr. Turchynov is urging talks with eastern leaders to defuse the conflict.
The two provinces are predominantly Russian speaking, though polls indicate only about a third of the population supports annexation by Russia. Secession in the east would destroy the export-oriented economies of Donetsk and Luhansk, Mr. Turchynov wrote in a post on the presidential website.
Those conducting the plebiscite said it left plenty of flexibility for future changes of course. Mr. Lyagin, the election official, said polling will take place in 1,527 sites, including hospitals and schools, that will be secured by police sympathetic to the cause and volunteers. Pro-Russian activists in the Luhansk region to the east said they had made similar arrangements for a vote.
“We receive the right for self-determination,” Mr. Lyagin said. “The next step will be another referendum when we ask, ‘Do we want to join Russia? Or, do we want to join Ukraine? Or do we want to become an independent state?’ There are many possibilities.” Voting started early Saturday at one school in Donetsk, for reasons that were unclear. After armed men threatened to kill a principal in the Luhansk region who did not want voting at her school, the central government said education officials should not take risks to oppose the polling.
At the news conference, Mr. Lyagin again underscored the narrative of the pro-Russian groups here that their movement is grass-roots and that, while embracing the Russian flag as a symbol, it is hardly beholden to Moscow. The two provinces that will vote are predominantly Russian speaking, though a poll by the Pew Research Center released this month indicated that 70 percent of respondents in eastern Ukraine favored keeping the country united, 18 percent favored the right to secede and the remainder were undecided.
The opinion of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who on Wednesday asked the separatists in eastern Ukraine to delay their referendums, was less important than the opinions of residents here, he said. Those conducting the plebiscite here in Donetsk said it left plenty of flexibility for future changes of course.
“We don’t owe anybody anything,” Mr. Lyagin said. Billboards went up over the weekend in Donetsk promoting “support for self-rule.” “We win the right for self-determination,” Mr. Lyagin said. “The next step will be another referendum when we ask, ‘Do we want to join Russia? Or, do we want to join Ukraine? Or do we want to become an independent state?’ There are many possibilities.”
The pro-Russian groups have occupied administrative buildings in about a dozen towns, control some highways, and have full control over one midsize city, Slovyansk. Ahead of the referendum in Slovyansk, the town’s self-appointed mayor, Vyachislav Ponomaryov, sounded a defiant note, assuring people that nothing would stop the controversial vote and predicting, with a gold-toothed smile, turnout of “100 percent.” At the news conference, Mr. Lyagin again underscored the narrative of the pro-Russian groups here that their movement is grass-roots and that, while embracing the Russian flag as a symbol, it is not beholden to Moscow.
According to Mr. Ponomaryov, Slovyansk will have 56 polling sites open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the results are expected by late evening. The opinion of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who on Wednesday asked the separatists in eastern Ukraine to delay their referendums, was less important, he said, than the opinions of residents here. “We don’t owe anybody anything,” Mr. Lyagin said.
“We are completely ready for the referendum,” he said at a news conference early Saturday. “A territorial commission has been created. Necessary spaces, voting booths and ballot boxes have been prepared. All organizational questions have already been resolved. Some small nuances remain. But as these small questions arise, we will resolve them. The referendum will happen in any weather.” Billboards went up over the weekend in Donetsk promoting “support for self-rule.”
Shortly after Mr. Ponomaryov’s remarks, a work brigade constructed impromptu voting booths in schools and children’s centers, stapling red drapes to wooden frames. Election employees eagerly awaited the delivery of voter rolls. After weeks of unrest, the pro-Russian groups have occupied administrative buildings in about a dozen towns in the east, control some highways, and have full control over one midsize city, Slovyansk.
While officials admitted that the conditions in the city presented challenges — most pressing, they said, were safety and outdated voting lists — they insisted on the referendum’s importance to citizens in the region. Ahead of the referendum in that city, the self-appointed mayor, Vyachislav Ponomaryov, sounded a defiant note, assuring people that nothing would stop the controversial vote and predicting, with a gold-toothed smile, turnout of “100 percent.”
Those who oppose the Donetsk People’s Republic seem as likely to stay home as vote in a referendum they consider illegitimate. “We are completely ready for the referendum,” he said at a news conference Saturday. “A territorial commission has been created. Necessary spaces, voting booths and ballot boxes have been prepared. All organizational questions have already been resolved.”
“It’s as if I declared my backyard sovereign,” said Dmitri Dmitrenko, 22, a supporter of the interim government in Kiev, who was walking his pit bull puppy, Chelsea, on a spring morning. “It has no more legitimacy or historical justification.” The ideas of the group, he said, “are not part of the contemporary world” but did appeal to older people nostalgic for the Soviet Union who just want “sausage to always cost two rubles a kilogram.” Shortly after Mr. Ponomaryov’s remarks, a work brigade began hastily constructing the wood frame voting booths.
Opponents, he said, “do not appear in public because they don’t want to be hunted down and killed.” It remains unclear if those who oppose breaking from Ukraine will even turn up to vote, since many of them consider the election — as well as their unrecognized new countries — illegitimate.
Joking, he said that if trained right, his pit bull would grow up to be “far less dangerous than the people around here.” ‘“It’s as if I declared my backyard sovereign,” said Dmitri Dmitrenko, 22, a supporter of the interim government in Kiev, who said he would not cast a ballot. “It has no more legitimacy or historical justification.”
The ideas of the pro-Russian groups in Donetsk, he said, “are not part of the contemporary world” but did appeal to older people nostalgic for the Soviet Union who just want “sausage to always cost two rubles a kilogram.”