Elections as hasty as they are controversial. Lhe separatist authorities of four Ukrainian regions (those of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporijia) announced on Tuesday, September 20, holding “annexation referendums” three days later, from Friday 23 to Tuesday 27 September.
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But these popular consultations are already coming up against a wall: neither kyiv nor the international community intends to recognize them. They are also referred to as “parody” by President Emmanuel Macron and described as “illegal” by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Franceinfo summarizes the reasons for this massive rejection.
Because vagueness reigns over their organization
Fighting continues to rage in Ukraine and the four regions affected by the referendums are not spared. It does so cast serious doubt on the proper conduct of the polls. “The vote will take place where there are no clashes, where the members of the electoral commission will be able to move, therefore in the areas really controlled [par les forces russes ou les séparatistes prorusses]“explains Alexandra Goujon, lecturer in political science at the University of Burgundy and specialist in Ukraine.
For this researcher, the consultations scheduled from Friday will suffer from the same limits as the annexation referendum organized in Crimea in 2014: absence of independent international observers, population displacements beforehand, weak monitoring of the vote… “We can also cite the last referendum organized in Russia in July 2020, where we saw suspicious figures and ballot boxes in car trunks”, emphasizes Alexandra Goujon. She also mentions “maneuvers regular bullying” against Ukrainians perceived as nationalists.
Because international law is violated
The extremely violent context of these new referendums is far from working in favor of Moscow and the pro-Russian separatists. “On is facing an invasion of a sovereign country, which continues with the kidnapping and disappearance of local leaders, the forced re-education of teachers, school principals”recalled Anastasiya Shapochkina, lecturer in geopolitics at Sciences Po and specialist in Europe-Russia relations, on franceinfo at the beginning of August.
“This invasion is accompanied by a criminal policy, including in the occupied areas where there are mass graves, torture rooms…”
Alexandra Goujon, Ukraine specialistat franceinfo
As the specialist points out, this “crime of aggression” under international law make that “any military action, but also political, on these territories is considered illegal”.
Because the situation is similar to Crimea
Previous referendums organized by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine continue to cause controversy on the international scene. Eight years after the annexation of Crimea, only a handful of countries – including Syria, Cuba or North Korea – recognize this attachment of the peninsula to Russia. Conversely, many countries and international organizations, such as the European Union, have criticized this annexation and voted for sanctions against Russia and the regime of Vladimir Putin.
As for the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, they have only been clearly recognized by Russia, Syria and North Korea. “These are de facto states, which have a population, a territory, a government, but which are not recognized by the international community”, shade Alexandra Goujon. The policies of “Russification” which have been undertaken there for eight years, through language, administration, the issuing of passports, should “facilitate the holding of referendums in these regions”believes the specialist, but remain insufficient to legitimize these elections in the eyes of the international community.