Zakharchenko: Ukrainian political parties will not participate in the primaries in the Donbas
According to the head of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, Ukrainian parties will not participate in early voting in the region.
“Under no circumstances will Ukrainian parties participate in the primaries in the DPR. I know that today’s reports on early public voting has caused excitement in the Ukrainian media and has resulted in a wave of false insinuations. It is untrue that we are supposedly waiting for Ukrainian parties to participate in our elections,” Zakharchenko said in a statement published by a Donetsk news agency.
According to him, their position on Ukrainian parties was expressed a long time ago. “All of them, by action or omission, contributed to the ATO in Donbas [military operations], which makes them complicit in the crimes of the ATO. They will be convicted in the same way that Ukrainian politicians and military personnel would be convicted,” Zakharchenko said.
He had previously announced that all areas of Donetsk will hold elections. It was also previously reported that the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, has considered allowing the elections to take place this year.