Passportization, party membership, filtration: how occupiers prepare for "election" in Kherson Oblast

The Russians are aiming to hold elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the occupied part of Kherson Oblast on 10 September 2023, encouraging local residents to get Russian passports and join the ranks of Yedinaya Rossiya [United Russia, the largest party in the Russian Federation – ed.], and also increasing filtration of citizens. 

Source: Radio Liberty project News from the Azov Region

Details: The Yedinaya Rossiya party announced on 27 February that they had allegedly admitted more than a thousand residents of Kherson Oblast into their ranks. The Deputy Head of the party in the Russian State Duma, Igor Kastyukevich, said that not all of these people have Russian passports yet. According to him, Yedinaya Rossiya is forming a team of "like-minded people" in the captured part of Kherson Oblast. 

Earlier, Valentina Matviyenko, the head of the Russian Federation Council, stated that elections are planned in the occupied territories of Ukraine for 10 September 2023. This day in Russia has been defined as a single voting day. Matvienko assured that preparations for the elections in the occupied regions are already underway.

Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-appointed "acting governor" of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, said on 7 March that "the oblast is starting to prepare for elections" and the election campaign will be held throughout Kherson Oblast, including its part on the right (western) bank of Dnipro river.

The so-called "election commission" is headed by Marina Zakharova, who was also involved in the Russian pseudo-referendum in Kherson Oblast. 

In the meantime, Yurii Sobolevsky, the legitimate First Deputy Chairman of Kherson Oblast Council, said in a comment to News from Azov that the Russian election campaign is not apparent in the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, but filtering and passportisation are ongoing.

Quote from Sobolevsky: "We are observing an intensification of filtration measures on the left bank in Kherson Oblast. This includes an increase in the number of roadblocks and increased patrolling, as well as constant searches in our communities.

In addition, there is pressure regarding forced passportisation, because it is actually a failure. Because people don't want these bloody passports, but people there are really intimidated and under such psychological pressure that some of them agree to obtain them. But we have not yet seen them prepare for the elections.

Russia also lives in a parallel reality, and in order to keep this reality going, maybe they might really try to hold so-called elections there, but put on some kind of show. To show that polling stations were allegedly created there, whereas there were actually none during the referendum, and that someone would vote for someone there.

But I can imagine what kind of show it will be and how it will play out. Again, machine gunners will pass through houses and there will be no opportunity for people to express their will and then they will scribble down any results they need."

Details: Sobolevsky also has doubts that more than a thousand residents of Kherson Oblast have joined the Yedinaya Rossiya party.

"I still hope that we have a much smaller number of collaborators who betrayed [us – ed.] there, who could theoretically leave and join this ‘Yedinaya Rossiya’. Therefore, there are great doubts about this number," the official said.

"I can say that here in Kherson they said at every turn that 'Russia is here forever', and now we are seeing how everything ends. It's only a matter of time before all our territories and all our people are liberated," Sobolevsky added.

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