Crimea Holds First Parliamentary Elections After Annexation by Russia

First parliamentary elections begin in Crimea after its annexation by Russia, and all polling stations are open, acting head of the republic, Sergei Aksyonov, said Sunday.

"All the stations are 100 per cent open, safety is fully secured. Commissions are working as scheduled," Aksyonov told journalists, as quoted by RIA novosti.

"The decision [on reuniting with Russia] is final and not subject to appeal. A new page is being turned in our history," Aksyonov added.

Over 1.5 million registered voters are electing 75 MPs to the Crimean State Council, of whom 50 will be elected on party lists and 25 in majority constituencies.

Some 2,497 residents of Crimea have been excluded from electoral lists as they earlier signed applications for retaining Ukrainian citizenship. They will not be able to take part in the vote, Itar-Tass informed.

On Sunday, citizens of Crimea and Sevastopol are electing their parliaments and all the local authorities. September 14 is the single all-Russian voting day on which Russia sees about 6,000 local elections at different levels, including the elections of 30 out of 85 heads of Russian regions and 14 regional parliaments, RIA novosti reported.