Ukrainian President signs law banning Russian observers from participation in elections
President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, has signed the law prohibiting Russian observers’ from participation in Ukraine's elections, announced the head of state press service.
"President signed the law that prohibits representatives of an aggressor country from being official observers at the elections in Ukraine," said the report.
The law makes amendments to Ukraine's presidential, parliamentary, and local elections laws. It determines that a citizen of the country, recognized by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as an aggressor state or an occupying state, cannot be an official international observer in these Ukraine elections.
This prohibition also applies to persons whose candidacies were initiated or proposed by the country, which the Verkhovna Rada recognizes as the aggressor state or the occupying state.
The law takes effect on the day of its publication.
On February 7, the Verkhovna Rada banned Russian citizens from participating in Ukraine elections as international observers. Russians will not be allowed to observe elections as part of the OSCE mission. However, Russia announced that it would send its observers for a short-term observation on the voting day.