On 18 September 2016, the Russian authorities have held “parliamentary elections” on the territory of unlawfully occupied and illegally annexed Crimea and Sevastopol in breach of the international law, as well as in contravention of the UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 and the Baku Declaration of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly that reaffirmed territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

The Russian State Duma consists of 450 seats. Half of them are elected by proportional representation, and since the “elections” have been held in Crimea and Sevastopol, this half of the seats is elected illegitimately. The other half of the seats in the State Duma is elected in single-member constituencies, and four seats are “elected” in single-member districts in Crimea and Sevastopol, which makes these four seats illegitimate too. Thus, the absolute majority of the seats in the new Russian State Duma (229 out of 450) is illegitimate.

By holding parliamentary elections in Crimea and Sevastopol, the Russian authorities hoped to legitimise their annexation internationally. Ironically, by holding the elections in illegally annexed Crimea and Sevastopol, the Russian authorities have effectively delegitimised the Russian parliament internationally.

Therefore, we call on parliaments of democratic states to take following steps:

Do not recogniz e the legitimacy of the State Duma.

End all inter -parliamentary cooperation between national parliaments and the State Duma.

Put on the sanctions list the four “winners” of the “elections” in the single-member districts in Crimea and Sevastopol.

Put o n the sanctions list the organizers of the “elections” in Crimea and Sevastopol.

Call upon Russia to re-run parliamentary elections without holding them in Crimea or Sevastopol.

Authors:

Anton Shekhovtsov, Associate Fellow, Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation (Ukraine)

Jakub Janda, Head of Kremlin Watch Program & Deputy Director of European Values Think-Tank (Czech Republic)

Signatories: