The European Parliament has refused to recognise Russia’s newly elected State Duma as legitimate, describing the 18 – 20 September vote as a “fake” ballot held in a climate of fear.
MEPs adopted a resolution on Thursday by 482 votes in favour, 41 against and with 39 abstentions, rejecting the elections as neither free nor fair, according to the Parliament.
The resolution said there were no genuine alternative candidates, no free media, no credible observers and no political freedoms, with critics of the Kremlin “imprisoned, murdered or forced into exile.”
MEPs also condemned the organisation of votes in parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine — Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia — as well as in Moldova’s Transnistrian region and Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia regions.
Call for non-recognition and sanctions
The Parliament said its non-recognition covers any legal or political consequences linked to elections held in occupied parts of Ukraine.
MEPs called on EU countries to adopt a similar policy, refrain from official contact with the newly constituted Duma and its members, and oppose the participation of such Russian representatives in interparliamentary assemblies.
They also spoke out against the normalisation of Russia’s participation in international sporting and cultural events.
The resolution called for further EU sanctions against individuals and entities involved in political persecution in Russia and in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, including judges, prosecutors, officials of Rosfinmonitoring — Russia’s federal financial monitoring service — members of Russia’s Central Election Commission, and those involved in organising elections in occupied parts of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
The text also said EU relations with Russia cannot be normalised without conditions including a “just and lasting peace” for Ukraine based on full territorial integrity and a complete withdrawal of Russian troops.
