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| Rebel-Backed Elections Underway in Eastern Ukraine | Rebel-Backed Elections Underway in Eastern Ukraine |
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| DONETSK, Ukraine — Voters in two pro-Russian separatist enclaves in eastern Ukraine went to the polls on Sunday to elect members of Parliament and heads of state, defying the central government in Kiev in elections that threatened to deepen and prolong the conflict in the east. | DONETSK, Ukraine — Voters in two pro-Russian separatist enclaves in eastern Ukraine went to the polls on Sunday to elect members of Parliament and heads of state, defying the central government in Kiev in elections that threatened to deepen and prolong the conflict in the east. |
| Russia has said it will recognize the results, but Ukraine, as well as the United States and the European Union, has said it will not, maintaining that the elections violated a cease-fire agreement signed in Minsk in September. | Russia has said it will recognize the results, but Ukraine, as well as the United States and the European Union, has said it will not, maintaining that the elections violated a cease-fire agreement signed in Minsk in September. |
| Ukraine’s powerlessness to stop the rebel election illustrated the central government’s loss of control over the eastern regions, and Russia’s strengthening influence. | Ukraine’s powerlessness to stop the rebel election illustrated the central government’s loss of control over the eastern regions, and Russia’s strengthening influence. |
| Separatist leaders portrayed the voting as a capstone to their six-month struggle for independence that began after street protesters in Kiev toppled a pro-Russian president and set the rest of the country on a path toward closer integration with the European Union. | Separatist leaders portrayed the voting as a capstone to their six-month struggle for independence that began after street protesters in Kiev toppled a pro-Russian president and set the rest of the country on a path toward closer integration with the European Union. |
| The cease-fire, which has been unraveling in daily shooting along the front lines, called for local elections to take place under Ukrainian law, and Kiev has scheduled city- and village-level votes for Dec. 7. Rebel leaders, however, say they have no intention of allowing those elections to take place in Donetsk and Luhansk. | The cease-fire, which has been unraveling in daily shooting along the front lines, called for local elections to take place under Ukrainian law, and Kiev has scheduled city- and village-level votes for Dec. 7. Rebel leaders, however, say they have no intention of allowing those elections to take place in Donetsk and Luhansk. |
| Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia said Moscow intended to recognize the results of the voting in Donetsk and Luhansk. “We hope that it will be a free declaration of will and that nobody will try to ruin it from the outside,” Mr. Lavrov told the Russian newspaper Izvestia. | Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia said Moscow intended to recognize the results of the voting in Donetsk and Luhansk. “We hope that it will be a free declaration of will and that nobody will try to ruin it from the outside,” Mr. Lavrov told the Russian newspaper Izvestia. |
| Western governments, including Germany and France, have called on Russia to refrain from recognizing the rebel votes. Secretary of State John Kerry called the elections a “clear violation” of the Minsk agreement. | Western governments, including Germany and France, have called on Russia to refrain from recognizing the rebel votes. Secretary of State John Kerry called the elections a “clear violation” of the Minsk agreement. |
| Rebel election officials said about half a million people had voted by 2 p.m. in Donetsk. In an effort to draw voters to an election lacking suspense, as the rebel leaders seem sure to win, polling stations opened Sunday in Donetsk schools with gigantic piles of heads of cabbage, potatoes, carrots, beats and onions in the yards outside; at one site, the vegetables were sold for 1 hryvnia, or about 8 cents, a 10-pound bag, far below market price. | Rebel election officials said about half a million people had voted by 2 p.m. in Donetsk. In an effort to draw voters to an election lacking suspense, as the rebel leaders seem sure to win, polling stations opened Sunday in Donetsk schools with gigantic piles of heads of cabbage, potatoes, carrots, beats and onions in the yards outside; at one site, the vegetables were sold for 1 hryvnia, or about 8 cents, a 10-pound bag, far below market price. |
| At other sites, organizers gave the vegetables away free. Several polling stations offered live entertainment, ranging from a three-member Slavic folk band to a man playing an accordion. | At other sites, organizers gave the vegetables away free. Several polling stations offered live entertainment, ranging from a three-member Slavic folk band to a man playing an accordion. |
| The prime ministers of Donetsk and Luhansk — Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a former electrician, and Igor Plotnitsky, a former consumer protection agency employee — were far ahead in rebel-backed polls and were all but certain to stay on. | The prime ministers of Donetsk and Luhansk — Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a former electrician, and Igor Plotnitsky, a former consumer protection agency employee — were far ahead in rebel-backed polls and were all but certain to stay on. |
| In a practice common in authoritarian post-Soviet countries, one candidate in Donetsk, Yuri V. Sivokonenko, endorsed his opponent, Mr. Zakharchenko, in the race. | In a practice common in authoritarian post-Soviet countries, one candidate in Donetsk, Yuri V. Sivokonenko, endorsed his opponent, Mr. Zakharchenko, in the race. |
| “We don’t have any differences, none at all,” Mr. Sivokonenko, the head of a police union and a candidate for head of state, said in an interview. "I didn’t ask people to vote for me because I don’t have any differences in principle with Zakharchenko. It is healthy competition.” | |
| Rather than proffer a choice to the people, he added, the purpose of the election was to boost the legitimacy of the separatists state. “By the end of the day, the Donetsk People’s Republic will have a new status,” he said. “The election confirms our status as a state.” | Rather than proffer a choice to the people, he added, the purpose of the election was to boost the legitimacy of the separatists state. “By the end of the day, the Donetsk People’s Republic will have a new status,” he said. “The election confirms our status as a state.” |
| Several voters said the election would compel Kiev to negotiate with separatists and end the war. | Several voters said the election would compel Kiev to negotiate with separatists and end the war. |
| “Now we will have a leader who can cooperate with other leaders,” said Tatyana Buncherenko, 41, a railroad employee, while standing in line for the discounted vegetables. “I will vote for Zakharchenko.” | “Now we will have a leader who can cooperate with other leaders,” said Tatyana Buncherenko, 41, a railroad employee, while standing in line for the discounted vegetables. “I will vote for Zakharchenko.” |
| Ms. Buncherenko alerted two friends by cellphone about the food that was being given away, and said she thought they would in turn call acquaintances with the news, boosting turnout as the day went on. “A chain reaction is taking place,” she said. | Ms. Buncherenko alerted two friends by cellphone about the food that was being given away, and said she thought they would in turn call acquaintances with the news, boosting turnout as the day went on. “A chain reaction is taking place,” she said. |
| Posters and billboards put up by the rebel central election commission have promoted the vote as a legitimization of the new state as much as an opportunity to choose a leader. | Posters and billboards put up by the rebel central election commission have promoted the vote as a legitimization of the new state as much as an opportunity to choose a leader. |
| “When Ukraine died in our hearts, the Donetsk People’s Republic was born,” one poster at a polling station said. In bullet points, it presented the advantages of the elections as allowing the rebel state to “retain taxes and pay pensions,” guaranteeing the right to speak Russian and opening the Russian market to Donetsk area exports. | “When Ukraine died in our hearts, the Donetsk People’s Republic was born,” one poster at a polling station said. In bullet points, it presented the advantages of the elections as allowing the rebel state to “retain taxes and pay pensions,” guaranteeing the right to speak Russian and opening the Russian market to Donetsk area exports. |
| “We will have a beautiful future,” Larisa Petrenko, a doctor, said at one polling station where Russian music was playing in the background. “Our stipends and pensions will be paid, and the factories will work. We will have a leader who can negotiate.” | “We will have a beautiful future,” Larisa Petrenko, a doctor, said at one polling station where Russian music was playing in the background. “Our stipends and pensions will be paid, and the factories will work. We will have a leader who can negotiate.” |
| The festive atmosphere continued later in the day with a free concert of Soviet-era pop on Lenin Square in Donetsk titled “How It Was in the Good Old Days.” | The festive atmosphere continued later in the day with a free concert of Soviet-era pop on Lenin Square in Donetsk titled “How It Was in the Good Old Days.” |
| Long lines formed at polling stations in Donetsk. No voter lists existed, raising the risk of duplicate voting. The Donetsk People’s Republic accepted ballots sent by email if voters attached a scanned copy of a passport. | Long lines formed at polling stations in Donetsk. No voter lists existed, raising the risk of duplicate voting. The Donetsk People’s Republic accepted ballots sent by email if voters attached a scanned copy of a passport. |