European Parliament: The Fictitious 'Putin Elections' Cannot be Considered Legitimate

At a meeting in Strasbourg, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the undemocratic presidential elections in Russia and their illegitimate extension to the occupied territories. The resolution was supported by 493 deputies, 11 voted against and 18 abstained.

The Parliament calls on the EU member states and the international community not to recognise the results of the presidential election in Russia as legitimate. 

"As they were held on the illegally occupied territories of Ukraine and even inside Russia, they were neither free nor fair, did not meet basic international electoral standards, and therefore lacked democratic legitimacy," the  resolution says.

The European Parliament emphasises that "the so-called presidential elections in Russia were held in an atmosphere of fear and repression, as well as in the context of an illegal, unprovoked and unjustified aggressive war against Ukraine".

"We call for limiting relations with Putin to issues necessary for regional peace, as well as humanitarian and human rights goals, such as the exchange of prisoners, the return of deported children to Ukraine, or the call for the release of political prisoners," the resolution says.

The document also emphasises that holding elections in the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia, namely in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol and parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, is a clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and a clear violation of international law, in particular the UN Charter.

The MEPs also expressed regret that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has decided to break with the EU and congratulate Putin on his fictitious re-election.