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2014 Crimean parliamentary election

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Parliamentary elections took place in the Republic of Crimea on 14 September 2014.[1] These were the first elections since Crimea's illegal annexation by the Russian Federation on 18 March. The outcome was an overwhelming victory for President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.

Background

On 17 April 2014, after the annexation, Russian president Putin submitted a draft law on parliamentary elections in Crimea and Sevastopol to the State Duma, setting 14 September 2014 as the election date. On this day also election were held in 30 Russian regions and 14 regional (Russian) legislatures.[2]

Electoral system

According to Crimean State Council Chairman Vladimir Konstantinov, the elections would be conducted according to a mixed system. Fifty deputies were to be elected on party-list proportional representation and 25 in majority constituencies.

Russian Central Election Commission Chairman Vladimir Churov said that the commission filed a request for funding with the government for 400 million roubles to conduct the election.[3]

On 9 September 2014 Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov announced that Crimean residents "who did not manage to obtain a passport of the Russian Federation" would be able to participate in the elections using their "Ukrainian local registration".[4]

Issues

The local Crimean Tatars had called for a boycott of the elections.[2]

Opposition figures in Crimea complained that they were deprived of a chance to win seats because of "Administrative resource-tactics" that made sure unapproved challengers would have no chance of gaining traction.[2]

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) identified a situation of multiple and continuing human-rights violations in Crimea after the start of the Russian occupation. It found the situation when Russia held its election was marked by persistent intimidation that targeted those who had opposed the annexation "referendum" or were critical of de-facto "authorities", as well as Crimea's Indigenous Crimean Tatar nation, which caused increasing numbers to leave the peninsula. The intimidation included waves of forced disappearances, intrusive searches, and criminalization of the Crimean Tatars' national body, the Mejlis.[5]: 41 

The OHCHR also noted that the participation of residents of Crimea in Ukraine's parliamentary elections of 26 October were limited by the need to travel to mainland Ukraine to vote, the burden of crossing administrative checkpoints from the occupied territory and back, and the fear of possible reprisals from the so-called authorities. Voters were summoned by Crimean police for "conversations" warning about "extremist activities", and had their personal data recorded by "Crimean self-defence" while leaving Russian-controlled territory.[6]: 119  Only 2,800 Crimean voters voted in the parliamentary election, or 0.2% of pre-annexation registered voters[5]: 6  In Ukraine's 25 May presidential elections, 6,000 Crimean residents had voted according to the Central Election Commission.[6]: 94 

Results

According to the election commission's reported results, only two parties overcame the election threshold: of the council's 75 seats, United Russia won 70 mandates because its candidates won in all 25 single-member constituencies and it won 71.06% of the party-list vote; the other 5 mandates went to the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia which won 8.14% of the party-list vote.[2][7][8] The voter turnout was 53.61% according to the commission.[7]

Russian media reported that 803 candidates had tried to win seats; 108 candidates in one of the single-member constituencies and the rest as candidates as member of 12 political parties.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Russian State Duma appoints parliamentary elections in Crimea on September 14, 2014". ITAR TASS. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Election Victories Strengthen Putin's Grip Around Russia and Crimea, nytimes.com (SEPT. 14, 2014)
  3. ^ "Putin submits law on parliamentary elections in Crimea, Sevastopol to State Duma". ITAR-TASS. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  4. ^ (in Ukrainian) Crimeans in the "elections" allowed to vote with Ukrainian passport, Ukrayinska Pravda (9 September 2014)
  5. ^ a b Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (2014-11-15). "Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine 15 November 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  6. ^ a b United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (2014-09-19). "Report on the situation of human rights in Ukraine" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  7. ^ a b Russia's Central Election Commission Recognizes Crimea's Parliament Vote as Valid
  8. ^ a b United Russia wins 70 out of 75 seats in Crimean parliament — preliminary count
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