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Crimea decides their future today through referendum
Posted On 16 Mar 2014
The participation in the referendum to be held today in Crimea about the annexation to Russia already reaches a 64%, said the president of the Electoral Commission for consultation, Mikhail Malyshev.
The data corresponds to 15:00 local time (13:00 GMT), seven hours after the schools to be opened in the Ukrainian rebel autonomy. “Until this moment, 970,019 people have voted, representing the 63.97%,” said Malyshev.
One million and a half of Crimeans are called to the polls, but a minority has decided to boycott the consultation. In the port city of Sevastopol, which also aims to be separated from Ukraine, the census includes more than 300,000 people, the vast ethnic majority of Russians.
The Ukrainian media has also reported that thirty “self-declared international observers” are supposedly supervising the referendum held today.
The schools opened their doors at 08:00 am local time (06:00 GMT) and will close at 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT), after the scrutiny the results will be published in an official comunicated tomorrow, March 17.
