On 15-17 March 2024, so-called presidential elections were held in Russia. The voting was conducted under conditions of extreme repression against society, obstructing a free, democratic choice, according to the position of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that contrary to international law, the ‘elections’ were also organised in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine: the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as in the territories of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. Voting was also conducted in Moldova’s Transnistria and the Georgian regions of Tskhinvali/South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Such organised ‘elections’ cannot be considered legal, free, or honest.

The Polish diplomacy recalled that since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian authorities have significantly intensified their repression of the political opposition, civil society, NGOs and independent media, as well as all those citizens who dare to criticise the actions of the Russian regime, including its aggression against Ukraine.

“The shocking death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny in a penal colony was the tragic culmination of those actions. The successive introduction of repressive legislation restricting civil liberties and rights, including political ones, wartime censorship, politically motivated criminal trials and the inadmissibility of candidates expressing anti-war views means that the ‘elections’ cannot be considered free or honest”, stated the Ministry position.

It recalled that Poland consistently supports Ukrainian independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. It also called on Russia to immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops and armaments from Ukrainian territory. There was also a renewed call on the Russian authorities to immediately release all political prisoners unlawfully held in Russian prisons.

Adrian Andrzejewski