Lugansk and Donetsk regions vote for self-determination

Published time: May 11, 2014 05:02
Edited time: May 11, 2014 13:10

Get short URL

A man casts his ballot for the referendum called by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine to split from the rest of the ex-Soviet republic, on May 11, 2014 in the village of Ternove near Lugansk. (AFP Photo / Dimitar Dilkoff)

​The referendum is in full swing in Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions, seeking independence from the central government. Local self-defense forces boosted security, fearing that Kiev could stage provocations to disrupt the self-determination vote.

More than fifty percent of voters in the Donetsk region have already cast their ballots, according to the head of the Central Election Commission of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic,” Roman Lyagin. He added, that the referendum results could be made public Monday afternoon.
“The turnout is not just high, it’s off the charts,” Lyagin said. “People are queuing up at polling stations, and election commissions are working at full capacity.”

The referendum turnout in the Lugansk region has already reached 65 percent, according to the chairman of the local referendum committee, Aleksandr Malykhin.
In Mariupol, recovering from Friday's deadly clashes, only eight polling stations have been opened, according to the coordinator of the central election commission of the “Donetsk People’s Republic”, Boris Litvinov. Those willing to vote have to wait for their turn in huge queues.

Almost simultaneously with the opening of polling stations, sounds of shooting and artillery fire were heard on the outskirts of Slavyansk, in southeast Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Activists in Slavyansk described the attacks to RT by phone.

“The artillery fire was so loud, that the earth and houses shook,” said one man, who only gave his first name, Vlad. “I have been trying to call the people at the checkpoint but they don’t pick up. There are snipers in the area and it’s too dangerous to speak on the phone.”
Slavyansk already witnessed mortar shelling of its outskirts by Ukrainian forces on the eve of the referendum. In the embattled city the stations will close at 15:00 GMT for security reasons.