The data from the statements of the Russian authorities regarding the turnout at the pseudo-elections in the TOT are significantly exaggerated. This was stated by Yaroslav Bozhko, a spokesman for the Yellow Ribbon resistance movement, in a commentary to Suspilne Krym.
“They falsified the data because they understood that the temporarily occupied territories were not covered by Russian journalists and that any figure could be imposed on them. In addition, there is no definitive data, no understanding of how many people live there under Russian control, and local governors have been just as active over the past two years in adding people to the territories that are not actually there. Many people have left, if not for Ukraine or the West, then at least deeper into the territory of the Russian Federation where there are no serious humanitarian problems and the risk of being subjected to illegal mobilisation or other illegal actions by the Russian authorities is less,” – Bozhko said.
He also explained that the occupiers deliberately extended the elections for three days, as this ensures an increase in turnout. According to him, the Russians also deliberately drove Russian military personnel to vote.
“This is an attempt by the Russian authorities to raise the bar higher. When the West tries to assess their real results of support, there is a perception that there are limits to lying. In the West, they will think that maybe they lied about 20%, added something, so we will count 60%, not 80%. I think the Russian authorities are deliberately insuring themselves for this case,” – he stressed.
The Crimean Tatar Resource Centre emphasises the illegality of such actions by Russia. The entire civilised world does not recognise the results of this “vote”.
Thus, parliamentarians from 20 countries made a statement that Russia’s so-called “presidential elections” in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine are a violation of international law and that the international community will never recognise their results.