Donetsk, Oct 1 – DAN. DPR local vote commissions (LVC) began distributing ballot papers to polling station commissions (PSC). The first one to start the handover was Budyonnovskiy district LVC.
The Budyonnovskiy LVC plans to distribute 129 thousand ballot papers. Observers were present at the site: Johan Backman (Finland), Giulietto Chiesa (Italy), South Ossetia Parliament chairman Anatoly Bibilov.
"Primaries is a serious body," Chiesa said, "I can see that there is no turning back, you’ve made a step up in establishing a new state. DPR is a fait accompli. You look forward, in future, it’s not an easy time, but I’m sure everything will be alright soon."
The handover to all the PSCs is to be completed by the end of the day.
The ballot papers were handed to all LVCs on September, 29.
The first round of the primaries is to be held in Donetsk on October 2.
The vote will be monitored by 1043 candidates observers and 22 international observers from Finland, Greece, Germany, Italy, South Ossetia, France, Czech Republic, Serbia and other. 147 journalists are to report on the primaries, currently they are undergoing registration procedures. Ukrainian media sources have not applied.
The primaries, that are preliminary in nature, are aimed just at exploring public opinion and held before anticipated local elections in Donbass, are in compliance with Minsk Agreements. The vote is being organized in line with OSCE standards. Official representatives of the candidates alongside international observers from OSCE/ODIHR and other foreign and international organizations are free to monitor the DPR primaries.