Russians vote in parliamentary elections

By Elena Teslova, Hakan Ceyhan Aydogan and Ali Cura

MOSCOW/KIEV (AA) – Russians began voting on Sunday to elect 450 representatives in the Duma, the lower chamber of parliament.

Voting started at 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and will continue until 8 p.m. local time (1700 GMT).

According to the Central Election Board, a total of 109,737,000 voters will cast their ballots in 95,000 different poll stations. Arrangements have also been made to accommodate votes of Russians living abroad.

The voters will choose 450 representatives from 14 political parties. For the first time in 13 years, 225 of the 450 deputy candidates are independents.

On Sept. 9, chairman of the Crimean Tatar legislature, the Mejlis, called on residents of the annexed peninsula to boycott Russia’s legislative elections.

“It is illegal and a crime that the occupant Russian administration is holding the Russian State Duma elections in Crimea, which is an integral part of Ukraine,” Refat Chubarov had said.

Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in March 2014 following a contested referendum. Since then, the region’s Tatar minority has regularly denounced increasing repression including arbitrary arrests and detentions.

Meanwhile, another protest against the elections in Russia erupted in Ukraine on Sunday, when an opposing group tried to get past the security installed in front of the Russian embassy in Kiev.

Security forces detained two protesters.

In Russia's consulate in Ukrainian city of Odessa, another set of protesters tried to block Russians from their right to vote. Three protesters were detained.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maryana Betsa in a statement called the Russian elections "illegal".

"These elections are not legal. The elections violate UN General Assembly's resolution on March 27, 2014, Ukrainian laws, the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Betsa said.