Over 50% Voter Turnout -Donbass & Zaporozhye Referenda Valid

According to the Electoral Commission, this Sunday, at the end of three days of voting, the referendums in the Donbass republics and the Zaporozhye region were recognized as valid with over 50 percent of citizen participation.

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"High voter turnout is reported from the entire territory of the Luhansk People's Republic," said the LPR's Central Election Commission (CEC) Yelena Kravchenko. She put the turnout at 76.09 percent, with 1 360 768 voters eligible to vote in the Republic.

For its part, the DPR referendum is also valid, with a turnout of 77.13 percent (1 203 855 people) in the three days of voting, according to the chairman of the regional CEC, Vladimir Visotsky.

While in the Zaporozhye region, "voter turnout during the three days of voting reached 51.55 percent, including votes cast abroad," said the head of the regional CEC, Galina Katiushchenko.

As for Kherson province, Marina Zakharova, chairwoman of the election commission, said that voter turnout was 48.91 percent, a total of 750 000 people.

The referendum is considered valid, according to international standards, provided that 50 percent plus one of the eligible voters have exercised their right to vote.

Earlier this week, the Donbass republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions announced that they would simultaneously hold referendums on accession to the Russian Federation between September 23 and 27.

The Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has said that if the referendums in these regions have a positive outcome, "the Constitution of Russia will come into force, considering Kiev's attempts to retake these territories as attacks on Russia."