The Central Election Commission recognized the "elections" to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the occupied territories as illegitimate and called on Ukrainians to refrain from participating.
Kyiv • UNN
The Central Election Commission adopted a resolution declaring the organization of the "elections" to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine illegitimate.
The Central Election Commission declared illegitimate the organization of the preparation and conduct in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine of the "elections" to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, and also called on Ukrainian citizens—voters residing in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine—to refrain from participating in any activities aimed at organizing the preparation and conduct of the illegal "elections" of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, UNN reports.
Details
During today's meeting, the Central Election Commission adopted a resolution on the illegitimacy of organizing the preparation and conduct in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine of the "elections" of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
The Commission noted, in particular, that amid the ongoing armed aggression by the Russian Federation, the systematic use of electoral procedures continues as an instrument to legitimize the temporary occupation of part of Ukraine, the illegal extension of its own jurisdiction over Ukraine's sovereign territory, and its forced integration into the political and legal space of the aggressor state.
Despite the clear international legal assessment of the illegality of such actions, their repeated condemnation by Ukraine and the international community, as well as the recognition that any "elections" and "referendums" held in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine are null and void and produce no legal consequences, the Russian Federation continues to actively use electoral procedures as a component of its hybrid war and foreign interference in Ukraine's democratic processes, thereby documenting its own international crimes. The latest such crime is the illegitimate organization of the preparation and conduct in the TOTs of Ukraine of the "elections" of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation on September 20, 2026, with voting to take place from September 18 to 20.
As is known, in June 2026, the CEC of the Russian Federation adopted a number of decisions concerning the organization of the "electoral process" in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. At the same time, the aggressor state illegally established 11 single-member electoral districts in the aforementioned territories.
The CEC also emphasized that the organization of the "elections" of State Duma deputies in single-member electoral districts in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, in particular in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, where these "elections" are planned to be held for the first time, is not only another manifestation of the aggressor state's gross disregard for the norms of international law, but also an attempt to carry out a new stage of the so-called integration of the seized Ukrainian lands into the state and legal system of the Russian Federation, another attempt to unlawfully incorporate part of Ukraine's territory into Russia's constitutional and political space.
Accordingly, the CEC condemned the unlawful decisions and actions of the authorities of the Russian Federation and its occupation administrations regarding the organization of the preparation and conduct in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine of the "elections" of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. It emphasized that all attempts by the Russian Federation to organize the preparation and conduct of these "elections" are illegitimate, while the results of such voting and all documents issued in the course of such "elections," including protocols on their results and deputy mandates of the "elected" deputies, are legally null and void and produce no legal consequences.
In addition, by the aforementioned resolution, the Commission approved a Statement calling on foreign states and their electoral administration bodies, international organizations, election observation missions, representatives of foreign civil society and political parties, and journalists to condemn the decisions and actions of the authorities of the Russian Federation and the occupation administrations it created concerning the organization of the preparation and conduct in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine of the illegal "elections" of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, and not to recognize any results of these "elections" or the powers of persons declared elected based on their results, nor the legitimacy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation formed as a result of their conduct.
At the same time, it called for not taking part in observing the process of the said "elections" and for facilitating the quickest possible end to the Russian Federation’s occupation of Ukrainian territories, as well as the application and/or strengthening of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions) against officials and citizens of the Russian Federation involved in organizing the preparation and conduct of these pseudo-elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
In the aforementioned resolution, the CEC also called on Ukrainian citizens—voters residing in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine—to refrain from participating in any activities aimed at organizing the preparation and conduct of the illegal "elections" of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, including forming so-called election bodies, standing as candidates for deputy, disseminating information or campaigning, observing the pseudo-elections, and other activities.
In addition, the Commission drew the attention of state bodies and local self-government bodies, their officials and employees, media entities, political parties and public associations, enterprises, institutions and organizations of all forms of ownership, and Ukrainian citizens to criminal liability for participating in organizing and conducting illegal elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, for publicly calling for their conduct, and for aiding the aggressor state.
It recommended that regional and district military administrations, military administrations of settlements, and local self-government bodies, within the scope of their powers and taking into account the security situation, facilitate the identification, recording, and transfer to Ukrainian law enforcement bodies of information about instances of organizational, financial, informational, technical, logistical, or force support for these illegal "elections," as well as information about persons involved in such actions.
The Commission also appealed to the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Bureau of Investigation to ensure the proper investigation of the relevant facts, identify the persons and entities involved in the organizational, financial, informational, technical, logistical, administrative, or force support of the aforementioned pseudo-elections, with the aim of bringing those responsible to criminal liability. It also called for the creation of an evidentiary basis for subsequent use within the framework of international cooperation and international mechanisms for holding the Russian Federation and the persons involved accountable, in particular within the framework of the activities of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
In addition, the Commission appealed to the Office of the Prosecutor General to take into account the collected materials and initiated criminal proceedings concerning the organization of the preparation and conduct by the Russian Federation of illegal "elections" in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, ensure the proper legal qualification of such actions, identify all persons involved, properly document the evidence, and use the relevant materials within the framework of international legal cooperation to hold officials and employees of the Russian Federation accountable, in particular within the framework of the activities of the aforementioned Special Tribunal.
The CEC also appealed to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine regarding the coordination of interagency response measures, consideration of issues concerning the application of sanctions and other measures of influence against officials and employees of the Russian Federation and citizens of other states who supported and/or participated in organizing and conducting the "elections," including observing the "elections" in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.