originally posted by: Xcalibur254
Furthermore, Russia's own Presidential Council on Human Rights has revealed that only about 30% of Crimea's population voted in the referendum, with
at most 50% of those voting in favor. Which is of course a far cry from the official numbers reported by Russia.
This is incorrect information
Here is the text from the official website of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the development of civil society and human
rights:
Members of the Council, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and regional public chambers prepared a conclusion on the observation of the
referendum in Crimea
March 20, 2014
The conclusion of several members of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the
development of civil society and human rights, the public chambers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, who observed the all-Crimean
referendum on March 16, is published
in Igor Borisov's blog.
At the same time, members of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the development of civil society and human rights Alexander
Brod, Igor Borisov and Yana Lantratova observed not the course of the electoral process, but the observance of human rights on the territory of the
peninsula on the day of the referendum. On polling day, they commented at length about public order and the electoral atmosphere. Igor Borisov made a
report on the trip at the meeting of the Council on March 18:
The general opinion of the members of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the
Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, the public chambers of the subjects of the Russian Federation on the referendum presents the following
conclusions:
"The referendum was held in compliance with the international democratic principles of popular initiative. Citizens' participation in the referendum
was voluntary and free. No one exerted influence on citizens in order to force them to participate or not to participate in the referendum. There were
no cases of obstruction of the free expression of citizens' will.
Citizens participated in the referendum on the basis of universal, equal and direct expression of will, each participant in the referendum had one
vote. The voting was secret, the counting of ballots and summing up the voting results were open.
The referendum was held publicly with the participation of national and international observers in compliance with the generally recognized principles
and norms of international law.
The remarks noted in this opinion in no way cast doubt on the results of the free will of the inhabitants of Crimea.
............................................
president-sovet.ru...
Igor Borisov's blog:
CONCLUSION
members of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the development of civil society
and human rights, the public chambers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation who observed the all-Crimean referendum
March 16, 2014
The all-Crimean referendum was scheduled for March 16, 2014 by legally formed authorities - the Supreme Council of Crimea and the Sevastopol City
Council - after the coup d'etat in Ukraine, the self-proclaimed government came to power and the rampage of radical nationalists, neo-Nazis and
criminal forces.
The procedures of the all-Crimean referendum were observed by the members of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation accredited by the Commission
of the Republic of Crimea for holding the all-Crimean referendum, members of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the
development of civil society and human rights, members of the public chambers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, who visited
commissions and referendum polling stations in the cities of Simferopol, Sevastopol, Bakhchisarai, Sakakh, Yalta, Alushta, as well as in the regions -
Simferopol, Sevastopol, Leninsky, Saki, Bakhchisarai, Razdolnensky.
There were two questions put to the referendum:
1. Are you for the reunification of Crimea with Russia as a subject of the Russian Federation?
2. Are you for the restoration of the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea of 1992 and for the status of Crimea as part of Ukraine?
Referendum participants had the opportunity to vote for one of the above issues.
The norms of international acts guarantee the right of citizens to take part in referendums. At the same time, constitutional rights and freedoms,
including the right to participate in a referendum, are guaranteed and cannot be abolished, and when new laws are adopted or changes are made to
existing laws, the content and scope of existing rights and freedoms cannot be narrowed down.
The jurisdiction of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea includes the organization and holding of local referendums. Within its powers, the Supreme
Council of Crimea, in order to ensure the implementation of these constitutional rights of citizens, approved the Temporary Regulations on the
Republican (local) referendum in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The decision to call a republican referendum was also the responsibility of the
autonomous republic.
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Freedoms, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Charter of
Local Self-Government, citizens have the right to participate in government and local self-government, both directly and through their
representatives. It is the referendum that is a form of direct participation in governance, one of the forms of the highest direct expression of the
will of the people.
...............................
In the referendum in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,
83.10% took part, in the city of Sevastopol -
89.5% of citizens who have the
right to take part in the referendum,
96.77% of the participants in the referendum in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and
89.5% in
Sevastopol voted for question No. 1,
for question No. 2 - in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea
2.51% and
3.37% in Sevastopol.
................................
Thus, the all-Crimean referendum on March 16, 2014 became a direct expression of the will of the people, who, in accordance with the UN Charter, have
the right to self-determination. The will of the people, as stated in Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is the basis of all
power.
.................................
president-sovet.ru...