Advance Voting as Part of DPR Elections to Begin on November 6 - Election Commission

DONETSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th October, 2018) The advance voting as part of the elections of the head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the lawmakers of the DPR parliament will be held on November 6-10, DPR Central Election Commission Chair Olga Pozdnyakova told Sputnik in an interview.

The elections of the heads and members of the parliaments of the DPR and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) are scheduled for November 11. The Ukrainian authorities have already stated that they would not recognize the elections' results.

"The advance voting will be held during the period between November 6 and November 10, 2018. The only reason for [the advance voting's] holding is the inability to come to a polling station on the election day. For sure, there should be a good excuse, that is why the advance voting will be organized, first of all, for servicemen, who are defending the borders of our state in non-stop regime," Pozdnyakova indicated.

She added that the advance voting was a forced step caused by the military situation in the country.

The conflict in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas started in 2014, when Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the DPR and LPR that refused to recognize the new government in Kiev, which came to power after what they considered to be a coup.

In February 2015, the warring parties signed the Minsk peace accords to end the fighting in the region, but the situation remained tense, with both parties accusing each other of ceasefire violations.