MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th March, 2019) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev slammed Kiev's move to close polling stations for Ukrainians residing in Russia, ahead of the presidential elections, slated for late March, as a clear violation of Ukrainians' voter rights.
"At the very outset of the pre-election marathon, Kiev, under flimsy pretexts, closed polling stations in its diplomatic and consular offices in Russia. About 3 million Ukrainians who live and work in Russia have lost their ability to vote. This is a clear violation of their electoral rights," Medvedev said in an interview with the Bulgarian newspaper Trud.
He went on to say that the procedure for observing the voting process had been violated by the Ukrainian government.
"Russian citizens were prohibited from participating in election monitoring, even as part of OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] monitoring missions. This is a serious violation of Ukraine's own international obligations. And it is exceedingly rare in practice. Obviously, the ruling regime has something to hide," the prime minister added.
