Eastern Ukrainian regions go to polls amid West's uproar

KIEV -- Two independence-seeking regions in eastern Ukraine held "presidential and parliamentary elections" on Sunday amid criticism from Kiev and the West.

In the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, 350 polling stations out of 364 were open, said Roman Lyagin, head of the Central Election Commission.

"All the members of the commission are at their designated stations. The turnout is significant. People have queued at the polling stations," RIA Novosti news agency quoted him as saying.

In Lugansk, another self-proclaimed people's republic, 102 polling stations were open.

The Central Election Commission in Donetsk has announced the preliminary results. The current leader of the region Aleksandr Zakharchenko is leading the exit polls with 81 percent of the vote.

The elections have triggered uproar from the Ukrainian government and the West.

Late on Sunday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the elections in the two eastern regions a "farce" in a statement.

He called on Russia to refrain from recognizing the "so-called elections because they are a clear violation of the Sept. 5 Minsk Protocol, which was also signed by Russia's representative."

The Minsk Protocol were signed by the Ukrainian government and opposition groups in the Belarussian capital in September to seek a ceasefire in the east of the country.

The Security Service of Ukraine said it had launched a criminal investigation into the ongoing elections to punish "actions aimed at forceful change or overthrow of the constitutional order or takeover of government."

Meanwhile, the European Union and the United States have also condemned the elections.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said late Sunday that she considered the elections in Donetsk and Lugansk a new obstacle on the path toward peace.

"The vote is illegal and illegitimate, and the European Union will not recognize it," said Mogherini.

She said those "elections" were held contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Minsk Protocol, signed by the representatives of the trilateral Contact Group, and obstruct efforts to find a sustainable political solution to the crisis.

"We deplore the intent of separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine to hold illegitimate so-called local 'elections' on Sunday, Nov. 2," U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement prior to the vote.

She warned Russia against "using any such illegitimate vote as a pretext to insert additional troops and military equipment into Ukraine."

Moscow, however, announced late Sunday that it respected the expression of the will of the people in southeastern Ukraine to vote by election for regional leaders and legislative bodies.

"Elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in general were well organized, the turnout was high," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, stressing those who were elected have received a mandate to restore normalcy of life in the regions.

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