OSCE observers weren't officially invited to Crimean referendum - Crimean authorities
11 March 2014, 11:41 -- The administration of Crimea has not sent an official invitation to the OSCE to monitor the referendum in Crimea, Rustam Temirgaliyev, deputy prime minister of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, told Interfax.
'We are really ready to accept monitors from the OSCE, but not as military advisers, let alone the NATO countries, but real monitors. A verbal invitation was indeed made by Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, but no official invitation was sent,' he said.
The administration of Crimea has invited representatives of the Russian Central Elections Commission and monitors from the CIS countries, he said.
'We are open to various international organizations, but only if they are ready to send monitors, not saboteurs, military experts and advisers. We don't need the help of such 'specialists',' he said.
Some media earlier reported, citing a source in the government of Crimea, that the administration of Crimea had sent an official invitation to the OSCE mission to send monitors to the Crimean referendum.
The Crimea's referendum will be held on March 16. Voters will answer two questions: 'Do you favor the Crimea's re-unification with Russia as Russia's constituent entity?'
'Do you favor restoration of the application of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of the Crimea and the Crimea's status as part of Ukraine?'
Crimea sends official invitation to OSCE to monitor referendum
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea's legislature has officially invited observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to come to the Crimea to monitor the March 16 referendum.
'An invitation has been handed to Switzerland, the country that holds the rotating presidency of the OSCE, for representatives of the member-countries and of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to monitor voting at the March 16 referendum in the Crimea,' sources in the Crimean parliament told Interfax.
Crimea to spend $2m on printing ballots, technical support – Deputy PM
The authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea will allocate up to 2 million US dollars on the March 16th referendum on whether to join Russia. This came in a statement to the ITAR-TASS correspondent by Crimea's First Deputy Prime Minister, Rustam Temirgaliyev, earlier today.
"The referendum will cost between 1.5 million dollars and 2 million dollars, with the money to be used for printing ballot papers and technical support for the election", Temirgaliyev said.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Crimean Supreme Council, Vladimir Konstantinov, told reporters yesterday that Kiev's decision to block Crimea's treasury accounts would not hinder the holding of the referendum, since Crimea has its own funds, its own budget and taxes and, is getting funds from Russia. "So, we'll have no problems", he added.
The referendum commission chairman, Mikhail Malyshev, said earlier that all of Crimea's registered voters who are in Crimea on March 16th would be able to cast their ballots. The ballots are due to be delivered to Crimea's 27 territorial commissions "in the next two days", and will then be taken to the district election commissions, Malyshev specified. When commenting on foreign monitors, Malyushev said that if that was their wish, his commission would consider an application to that end in keeping with relevant provisions.
80% Crimeans support accession to Russia – polls
More than 80 percent of the Crimean population would back the republic's accession to Russia. That is according to the Supreme Council's chairman, Vladimir Konstantinov, who cites recent opinion poll results.
"Over 80% of Crimea residents are going to vote for accession to Russia, according to yesterday's focus-group surveys," Mr. Konstantinov said.
He predicted a "considerably high" turnout for the upcoming referendum on March 16 that will decide the fate of the Black Sea peninsula.
Crimea's authorities and its population are voicing no concern about the fact that Kiev is refusing to recognize the Crimean referendum and has even cancelled it, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea, Vladimir Konstantinov, told newsmen Monday.
"We are even glad to learn that the Kiev authorities are refusing to recognize the referendum. We have not recognized them either," said Speaker of the Crimean Parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov .
By the time the referendum is underway, he will have more supporters, Konstantinov stressed.
He believes a considerable proportion of the Ukrainian population continues to say that the people support the policies of Crimean authorities and the referendum.
"Nobody wants to live under the Kiev regime," Konstantinov stressed.
Crimean Sevastopol grants Russian language official status
The authority of the Crimea's key port city Sevastopol has granted the Russian language the official status in the autonomous republic, meaning it can now be used in official documents. A decree to this effect was signed Monday by the acting administration chief Dmitry Belik.
The statement says that the status of the Russian language has been upgraded in accordance with international laws and with regard to the fact that it is the majority language in the city.
Crimea authority vows no hurdles for monitors at independence vote
The Crimean authority has vowed there will be no hurdles for international watchdogs who wish to monitor the upcoming referendum on the status of Ukraine's breakaway republic on March 16, according to Crimea's Cabinet Chairman Sergei Aksyonov.
'We will make this referendum as transparent as they come,' he said. "There will be no access problems for monitors.'
Earlier, the Crimean parliament endorsed the region's accession to Russia and set a date for the general vote at March 16.
Voice of Russia, RIA, Interfax, TASS
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
