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Residents of eastern Ukraine, under rebel control, went to the polls in an election condemned by Kiev and described as "illegal" by Western countries.
The vote on Sunday to choose heads of government and members of the legislature The "people's republics" of Donetsk and Lugansk were held in a climate of increased security, following the murder of one of the main Rebel leaders during a bomb attack at a cafe in August.
Armed soldiers patrolled the streets, while campaign posters around Donetsk invited people to vote "with Russia in your heart".
The separatists are fighting Ukrainian forces in the country's industrial east since spring 2014, in a war killed more than 10,000 people, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Although a 2015 agreement on the end of the war calls for local elections in Donetsk and Luhansk, critics say Sunday's vote is illegitimate under international law.
Washington and Brussels asked Russia, to be accused of channeling its troops. weapons in eastern Ukraine to help the separatists, not to hold "illegal" polls, saying that they would impede peace efforts.
At the same time, Kiev urged its Western allies to punish Moscow for violating the 2015 agreement, signed in the Belarusian capital, Minsk
On Saturday, Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, urged residents to postpone the vote "by hand".
"Do not participate in false elections!" did he declare.
The first results of the vote are expected Monday, according to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.
A step towards democracy?
Russia and the separatists believe that Sunday's election is essential towards full democracy in the regions and stressed that the turnout was high.
Officials said that 408 and 316 polling stations had been opened in Donetsk and Luhansk respectively, with more than 60% of voters voting in Donetsk at 11:00 GMT, while voter turnout was higher 50% in the Luhansk region.
Some reports suggest that the participation rate in both territories was even higher.
Local authorities set up food stalls near polling stations and offered lottery tickets to those who voted in favor of the high turnout.
"This is another review of the civic position, of the political stance, of the Donetsk Republic as a whole," said Denis Pushilin, acting chief of the separatists of Donetsk after the death of his predecessor, Alexander Zakharchenko, in August.
His Luhansk counterpart, Leonid Pasechnik, denied that the holding of the vote was contrary to the Minsk agreement, stating that "we are a free republic, a free country".
The two men promised to seek closer ties with Moscow and should win, but security remains a concern for some voters.
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| The participation rate would have been greater than 50% in Donetsk and Luhansk [Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters] |
. "There were mortar shells again yesterday, I was afraid to go to vote," AFP Natalya, a 61-year-old retired woman living in the Donetsk suburb, told AFP. .
Another voter, Lyudmila Sharakhina said that she wanted the region to join Russia.
"Of course, we would like to become [part of] Russia, as did Crimea," she said.
In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and supported the outbreak of an uprising in eastern Ukraine in what Kiev considers a punishment for its pivot to the west.
While the violent fighting has stopped, the conflict still causes many casualties. According to Kiev, four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the days leading up to the elections.
Peace negotiations are stalled and the Minsk agreement is largely perceived as dormant.
The last separatist elections were held in 2014, despite protests from Kiev and the West, who refused to acknowledge their results.
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"Illegal and illegitimate"
The US Embbady in Ukraine said that the "simulations" would only benefit the Russian representatives in the east of the country. Ukraine ", while NATO added the polls" undermine efforts for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. "
Kurt Volker, US Special Envoy for Ukraine, was one of the most outspoken critics of the vote.In a statement on Twitter on Sunday he called the rebel-controlled areas a "second-rate police force led by crooks and thugs, all subsidized by Russian taxpayers. "
On November 10, Federica Mogherini, head of the European Union's foreign policy, said the bloc considered the polls" illegal and illegitimate and would not recognize them ".
She called on Russia to use its "in considerable fluence "on the separatists to implement the Minsk agreements, starting with a cease-fire and withdrawal of heavy weapons.
Russia has repeatedly denied the funding and equipment of separatist forces and rejected calls for the cancellation of elections, the Kremlin spokeswoman Marina Zakharova, said in October that elections were needed to "fill the void in power" following Zakharchenko's death.
Several journalists reportedly denied access to the regions during the vote, while those allowed to enter would be closely monitored by press center officials and prevented from going to polling stations without accompaniment.
A journalist was badigned a polling station but was not allowed to enter other offices and was warned for attempting to visit sites outside the route, Al said Jazeera a reporter reported from the scene.
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