The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has declared the new composition of the Russian State Duma illegitimate, according to Yevhenia Kravchuk, a member of the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation to PACE (Servant of the People faction).
"PACE has declared the 'new' Russian State Duma illegitimate and called for restrictions on the issuance of tourist visas to Russians!" Kravchuk announced on Facebook on Wednesday.
According to her, the PACE resolution regarding the sham "elections" in Russia was adopted unanimously (59 votes in favor) during the Assembly's plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
"The Assembly clearly states: the so-called 'elections' to the State Duma held on September 18–20 did not meet the fundamental conditions for free and fair elections and cannot be considered a genuine expression of the will of Russian citizens. Consequently, the new State Duma cannot be recognized as democratically elected or as a legitimate representative body," the MP noted.
Kravchuk stated that three amendments were incorporated into the resolution's text at her proposal.
"Principles of international humanitarian law regarding occupation were enshrined: occupation is temporary in nature and does not transfer sovereignty to the occupying state. The occupying state must respect the existing legal order of the occupied territory, and temporary control cannot be used to alter its legal status," Kravchuk noted. She also emphasized that the resolution condemned the coercion of Ukrainian citizens in temporarily occupied territories into participating in Russian "electoral" processes.
"Participation [in the elections] obtained under conditions of occupation, coercion, or pressure cannot be interpreted as a free expression of political will or used to legitimize the attempted illegal annexation. Calls were also made for immediate sanctions against those who attempt to 'represent' the temporarily occupied territories," Kravchuk stressed.
According to Kravchuk, the resolution’s key calls include rejecting the sham elections to the Russian State Duma and refusing to recognize any legal or political consequences of holding them in Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories. The document also proposes refraining from any engagement with the new Russian State Duma, continuing the political and diplomatic isolation of the Russian authorities, and preventing the normalization of Russia's participation in international forums.
She noted that the resolution proposes imposing sanctions against the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC), including its leadership and members, as well as regional election commissions and individuals who organized or administered these so-called "elections," ran as candidates, or acted as "observers" in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.
