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Over the weekend, citizens in two east Ukrainian regions overwhelmingly voted to become independent in a referendum that only the Kremlin seems to be on board with. Separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk report that 89 percent and 96 percent, respectively, said they wanted to break free of Kiev's authority.
#Luhansk result: 96% vote "yes." East steams through Soviet-style vote, so now what? (UPDATED) http://t.co/YD0gofPfez pic.twitter.com/Js6qSVFBW4
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) May 12, 2014
While that number may seem suspiciously high, that doesn't mean the vote was necessarily rigged — only the people pushing for self-rule actually participated. Most considered it a sham, even illegal, and few people outside of Moscow plan to honor the results.
That isn't to say the vote was completely on the up-and-up, either. The vote was hampered by obvious signs of corruption, per BBC correspondents, who reported what they saw this week:
- Anyone could vote in any polling station in the region simply by scribbling their name on a piece of paper, they say
- The BBC filmed a woman casting two ballots
- One pro-Ukraine teacher said she received death threats after refusing to let rebels use her school as a polling station
It also flies in the face of a Pew Research poll, published last week, which found that the majority of Ukrainians — even in the east — are in favor of staying united.