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Crimean referendum, 2014

16 March 2014 (2014-03-16) (in -3939 days)

whether Crimea should join the Russian Federation or restore 1992 Constitution and declare independence

Results by county

Part of a series on the
2014 annexation of Crimea
Main topics Timeline of the annexation International reactions to the annexation 2014 Crimean referendum Crimean problem Republic of Crimea
Background History of Crimea 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars 1954 transfer of Crimea 1991 Belavezha Accords 1994–95 President of Crimea 1994 Budapest Memorandum 1997 Russian - Ukrainian Friendship Treaty 1997 Partition Treaty 2006 anti-NATO protests in Feodosiya 2010 Kharkiv Pact 2013–14 Euromaidan Revolution of Dignity
v t e

This article is part of a series on the politics and government of
Crimea
Autonomous Republic of Crimea (within Ukraine, 1991–present)
Constitution Presidential representative: Tamila Tasheva Verkhovna Rada (dissolved) Chairman (vacant) Council of Ministers Chairman: (vacant) Prosecutor Elections Parliamentary: 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 Presidential: 1994 Referendums: 1991 1994 2014
Republic of Crimea (territory occupied by Russia 2014–present)
Constitution State Council Head: Sergey Aksyonov Prime Minister: Yury Gotsanyuk Recent elections Parliamentary: 2014 2019 Political parties
See also
Political status of Crimea Politics of Russia • Politics of Ukraine
Other countries
v t e

A referendum on the status of Crimea (Template:Lang-ru, Template:Lang-ua, Template:Lang-crh) is scheduled to be held on 16 March 2014 by the legislature of Crimea as well as by the local government of Sevastopol. The referendum will ask the people of these regions whether they want to join Russia as a federal subject, or if they want to restore the 1992 Crimean constitution and declare independence. On March 11, 2014 the Supreme Council of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council adopted a resolution expressing their intent to declare independence following the referendum, and on March 14 the Crimean parliament removed the coat of arms of Ukraine from its building.

There will be two simultanenous referendums, one, which is orgnised by the city council of Sevastopol and another, which is organised by a special committee set up by the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The latter voting can take part in 1 534 815 voters. This list was achieved from the data base of the central election committee, 28 February 2014, before the access to the database was denied.

As for the ODIHR of the OSCE, it will not take part in the election observation as it has not been asked by the Ukrainian government to do so and because of this it does not consider the referendum constitutional from the All-Ukrainian perspective. Representatives of the mass media do not have the right to observe the referendum, according to the bill.

Crimea and Sevastopol are neighboring subdivisions of Ukraine located in the Crimean peninsula, a region with a long and complex history. Demographically, the region is currently populated by Russian-speaking majorities but with such demographics undergoing dramatic changes for the past 200 years that have shifted the ethnic majorities from Crimean Tatars to ethnic Russians, due in part to the their deportation 70 years ago.

The interim Ukrainian government, United States, European Union, and several other nations state that any referendum held by the local government of Crimea without the express authority of Ukraine is unconstitutional and illegitimate; and that the local Crimean government lacks under authority under Ukrainian law. Additionally, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (a representative body of Crimean Tatars) has called for a boycott of the elections.

Russia and the Crimean parliament argue that the referendum is legal, citing the UN recognized right of self-determination and the advisory opinion on Kosovo in which the International Court of Justice declared that international law contains no prohibition against declarations of independence. Western legal scholars have disputed the validity of the Kosovo analogy.

The Associated Press described the referendum as, "essentially a declaration of independence from Ukraine". The approval to hold a referendum, however, was taken under a highly diffused environment polarized by uncertainty that lacked external diplomatic observers while Crimea was under a military intervention by Russia. Five days before voting day the OSCE chair, Switzerland's Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, declared the referendum as illegal under Ukrainian law and because of that the OSCE will not send observers.

Background

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During the period of the Soviet Union, the Crimean Oblast was a subdivision of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic until the 1954 transfer of Crimea into the Ukrainian SSR. Crimea became part of independent Ukraine after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, shortly after Crimea had re-gained its autonomy following a 1991 referendum. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine abolished the 1992 Crimean Constitution and the office of President of Crimea in 1995 when separatist Yuriy Meshkov was banned from the country. The post of President of Crimea has lasted one year. Crimea gained a new constitution in 1998 that granted less autonomy; notably, any legislation passed by the Crimean parliament could be vetoed by the Ukrainian parliament.

In February 2014 polling found about 41% of Crimean people wanted Ukraine to unite with Russia. In 2013 only 35.9% of Crimean people shared the same opinion. 77% of Crimea's and 94% of Sevastopol's population are native speakers of Russian.

According to the 2001 Ukrainian population census 58.5% of the population of Crimea are ethnic Russians, 24.4% are ethnic Ukrainians and 12.1% are Crimean Tatars. All Tatars were deported from Crimea and many killed in May 1944 by Soviet leader Stalin's order. Only after 1991 were they able to return in greater numbers to Crimea.

Circumstances

On 27 February 2014, amidst tensions in the region during the Ukrainian revolution, the Crimean Council voted to hold a referendum on the status of Crimea on 25 May 2014. Olha Sulnikova, head of information and analysis department of parliament, reported on the phone from inside the parliamentary building that 61 of the registered 64 deputies had voted for the referendum resolution and 55 for the resolution to dismiss the government.

Interfax-Ukraine reported that, "it is impossible to find out whether all the 64 members of the 100-member legislature who were registered as present, when the two decisions were voted on or whether someone else used the plastic voting cards of some of them" because due to the armed occupation of parliament it was unclear how many members of parliament were present.

Enver Abduraimov, member of the parliament presidium, said that he did not go inside when he saw that armed guards who secured the building were confiscating all communications devices from deputies. Andriy Krysko, head of the Crimean branch of the Voters Committee of Ukraine, announced that no one from the parliament secretariat was in the building when voting took place.

Originally the referendum was to be about the status of Crimea within Ukraine and was initially set for 25 May 2014, but later, on 1 March 2014, it was pushed back to 30 March 2014. The referendum was approved by the Supreme Council of Crimea on 27 February 2014 but the Central Election Commission of Ukraine denounced it by stating that the Crimean authorities do not possess the legal jurisdiction to conduct it. Regarding the referendum's initial purpose, the Daily Telegraph reported on 27 February 2014 that it, "appears to be for greater autonomy within Ukraine rather than for full independence."

On 4 March 2014 the district administration court of Kiev cancelled the decision of the council concerning the no confidence vote in the Council of Ministers of Crimea and the appointment of Sergey Aksyonov as a chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea and declared the organization and conduct of local referendum on improving the status and powers of autonomy as illegal. On 6 March 2014, the Supreme Council changed the date of the referendum from 30 March 2014 to 16 March 2014 and changed the option for the referendum from greater autonomy to ascension to the Russian Federation. This decision was made with 78 votes in favor and 8 abstentions. Later that day, acting President Turchynov announced "In accordance with power I am conferred on, I have stopped the decision of the Crimean parliament. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will initiate dissolution of the parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. We will defend the inviolability of the Ukrainian territory." On the same day the Crimean parliament voted to move the vote up to March 16. The parliament is surrounded and under control of unidentified armed forces. Members of the Supreme Council were denied access to the vote and have doubt about the validity of it.

There are reports of people confiscating identification documents before the voting day. Simferopol city administration confirmed these claims and declared it unlawful.

Posters and leaflets campaigning for the referendum appear througout Crimea.

Several hundred residents of Crimea, mainly Crimean Tatars, have left Crimea for security reasons according to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

The UN Human Rights Envoy Ivan Simonovic had to cancel his trip to Crimea as the current situation does not permit his travel. He intended to observe the human rights situation which was the Russia's explanation for its engagement in Crimea.

Options

There will be two options to choose from on the ballot with voters able to choose only one of them. The options, in synthesis, reflect the following stances:

Option 1: Do you support Crimea joining the Russian Federation as a federal subject?

Option 2: Do you support restoration of 1992 Crimean Constitution and Crimea's status as a part of Ukraine?

The referendum will be decided by a simple majority with the option with the most votes declared winner. Although the ballot uses question marks to portray the options, answers will not be given in the yes or no format. Instead, voters will be able to mark only one option, with ballots casted for both options declared invalid. The ballots will also lack an against all option with voters forced to choose either one option or the other. The referendum text does not allow voters to vote for the status quo. Media outlets have reported different translations for each option and labeled them as "questions" which has created some confusion and inconsistencies on the matter.

The Ukrainian city of Sevastopol, which is also located in the Crimean peninsula but administered separately from the Crimean republic, will also be included in the referendum process. However, on 6 March 2014, Sevastopol unilaterally declared itself a federal subject of the Russian Federation.

It is yet unclear which version of the 1992 constitution the second option refers to. The original 1992 constitution stipulated that Crimea was "an independent state," but parliament then ratified a second version one day later that stipulated that Crimea "was a part of Ukraine".

Some Western commentators claim that both options result in independence, offering no way for maintaining status quo. Neverthless, the declaration explicitly states, that independence will be effect only if "reunification with Russia" option will get most votes (art. 1); this independence will pave way for Crimea's application for membership in the Russian Federation (via inter-state treaty (art. 3).

The ballot will be printed in three languages: Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar (with Cyrillic script).

Legal aspects

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It is unclear whether or not the referendum is legitimate. According to Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine, territorial changes can only be approved via a referendum where all the citizens of Ukraine are allowed to vote, including those that do not reside in Crimea. The Central Election Commission of Ukraine also stated that there are no judicial possibilities, according to the legislation of Ukraine, to initiate such changes. However, the International Court of Justice declared through its advisory opinion on Kosovo's declaration of independence that international law contains no prohibition on unilateral declarations of independence. Some scholars and politicians, like former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, claimed that the referendum, in contrast to Kosovo's, was under assault rifles and, thus, conducted through violence.

Party of Regions MP Yuriy Miroshnychenko claimed March 11 that "the Crimean referendum is illegitimate, and its holding must be immediately stopped". Another Party of Regions MP, Hanna Herman, commented the same day about Yanukovych's press conference, "He needs to ... prevent the illegal referendum".

President of Russia Vladimir Putin during his conversation with Mustafa Dzhemilev, a former Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, stated that Ukrainian Independence from the Soviet Union was not obtained legitimately either.

Monitors

It is still unknown if international observers will monitor the referendum. So far, military observers from OSCE have attempted to enter into Crimea three times but have been unable to, with witnesses traveling with the observers saying that warning shots were fired into the air the last time the observers attempted to enter. OSCE's attempts to enter Crimea come as the newly installed government in Ukraine invited the organization into its territory, but pro-Russian authorities in Crimea say that OSCE does not have permission to enter the region as military observers. The multinational OSCE observation mission published a report about their observations which "produced significant evidence of equipment consistent with the presence of Russian Federation military personnel in the vicinity of the various roadblocks encountered".

Several days later, the Russian-funded news agency RT News reported that Crimea invited OSCE election observers to monitor the referendum. However, later in the day, an OSCE spokeswoman said that Crimea didn't have the authority to invite the organization into the region as it is not a fully-fledged state and, therefore, incapable of requesting services provided exclusively to OSCE members. The next day the Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea, Rustam Temirgaliyev, said they did not invite the OSCE to observe the referendum in an official manner. He explained that a verbal invitation was indeed made by Prime Minister of Crimea, Sergei Aksionov, but not an official invitation.

Ukrainian Pravda reported on 11 March that Russia formally asked all Russian-speaking European Union citizens and expats to become observers in Crimea while travel, accommodation and all expenses will be covered.

Reactions

Domestic

• The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People has announced that "Crimean Tatars will not take part in the referendum and deem it illegitimate."
•  Ukraine – The Ukrainian government has announced it will not recognise the referendum. Acting president Oleksandr Turchynov stated: "It is not a referendum, it is a farce, a fake and a crime against the state which is organised by the Russian Federation's military." Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko alleged Russian coercion in allowing the referendum and that the international community should not allow it to happen.

International

•  Canada – Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the Canadian government will not recognise the result and that the region was under "illegal military occupation."
•  France – Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that the referendum in Ukraine’s Crimea region planned for March 16 is illegitimate and the annexation of Crimea by Russia would be illegal. French President Francois Hollande told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in a phone call that the referendum planned in Crimea "has no legal basis."
•  Germany – Chancellor Angela Merkel called the referendum "illegal and incompatible with Ukraine's constitution."
•  Russia – Chairman of the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, said that Russia will welcome Crimea to the Federation if the referendum passes. President Vladimir Putin has further solidified Russia's position on the matter, stating: "The steps taken by the legitimate leadership of Crimea are based on the norms of international law and aim to ensure the legal interests of the population of the peninsula." During a phone call with once deported, former leader of the Crimean Tatars Mustafa Jemilev President Putin informed him that the rights of this indigenious people is important to him and that he ordered to prevent any violence against the Crimean Tatars.
•  Turkey – Turkey supports and recognizes Ukraine's territorial integrity, including Crimea. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has labeled the referendum as unhelpful in engendering a solution to the crisis.
•  United Kingdom – Prime Minister David Cameron has declared that any referendum vote in Crimea will be "illegal, illegitimate, and will not be recognized by the international community."
•  United States – The United States will not recognize the results of the referendum, and will continue to consider Crimea as part of Ukraine. President Barack Obama claimed that the referendum would violate Ukrainian sovereignty and international law.
•  European Union – All 28 member states of the European Union believe that the separation of the Crimea from Ukraine unacceptable under international law.
•  Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyzstan views the interim Ukrainian government as legitimate and has stated concern over the crisis, and condemns any activities aimed at destabilizing the situation in Ukraine.
• The European Parliament rejected the upcoming referendum on independence in Crimea, which they saw as manipulated and contrary to international and Ukrainian law.
• Group of 7 world leaders said that they would not recognize the results of a referendum for Ukraine's Crimea region. The leaders called on Russia to "immediately" halt actions supporting the referendum on Crimea regarding its status.

• Ukraine
• Russia
• 2010s
• Politics

Notes

1. Emil (2010) " between 1443 and 1783, a strong and prosperous state, the crimean Khanate, ruled most of the people making up the Crimean Tatars. After Russia conquered the Khanate, Catherine the Great gave away the larger and better parts of the region to her close advisors and friends, who soon seized all Tatar lands. This led to the first mass emigration of Crimean Tatars, beginning an exodus, mostly to Turkey, that continues today.
2. Flintoff (2013) "In 1944, on the orders of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, the entire population of Tatars on the Crimean Peninsula was rounded up and sent to the deserts of Soviet Central Asia. Nearly 70 years after that wartime atrocity, the Tatar population is still working to reassert itself in its homeland."
3. Ghosh (2014) "The Tatars once dominated the Crimean peninsula, but they are now a minority there, accounting for only about 12 percent of the population."
4. For instance, Marc Weller, Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge has argued that "according to international precedent", Crimea "cannot simply secede unilaterally, even if that wish is supported by the local population in a referendum", and that in any case "international law does not recognise a divorce at gunpoint", and that in this respect Crimea differs from Kosovo, where "Nato intervened for genuine humanitarian purposes. It did not occupy the territory in consequence of its humanitarian intervention. Instead, the UN administered Kosovo for some eight years, creating a neutral environment in which its future could be addressed. Kosovo did eventually gain independence, based on the settlement proposed by UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari."
5. AP (2014) "Crimea's parliament rammed through what amounted to a declaration of independence from Ukraine, announcing it would let the Crimean people, 60 percent of whom are ethnic Russian, decide in a March 16 referendum whether they want to become part of their gigantic neighbor to the east."
6. AP (2014) "The action in Crimea's parliament was essentially a declaration of independence from Ukraine."
7. Salem; Walker; Harding (2014) "Crimea's parliament voted to hold a referendum on the region's status on 25 May, the same day Ukraine goes to the polls in presidential elections. It also voted to sack the region's cabinet."
8. Crimean Parliament (2014; in Russian) "Вопрос, получивший большинство голосов, считается выражающим прямое волеизъявление населения Крыма."
9. Kolstø; Edemsky (1995) "On 5 May 1992 the Crimean parliament adopted a constitution plus a Declaration of Independence. However, on the very next day, the parliament inserted a new sentence into the new constitution to the effect that the Crimean republic a constituent part of the Ukrainian republic." p. 194

See also

• Irredentism
• Greater Russia
• Ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states

References

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External links

• Referendum's official site
• Referendum's non-official site, on-line voting

v t e Elections and referendums in Crimea
Parliamentary elections	1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2019 2024
Presidential elections	1994
Referendums	1991 1994 2014
See also Elections in Ukraine Referendums in Ukraine Elections in Russia

v t e Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity
21 November 2013 – 23 February 2014
Main topics	Timeline of the Euromaidan Domestic responses to the Euromaidan International reactions to the Euromaidan Casualties Heavenly Hundred Order of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes Damaged communist monuments
Main events	1 December 2013 riots Fall of the monument to Lenin in Kyiv 11 December 2013 assault Ukrainian–Russian action plan Anti-Maidan Vasylkiv terrorists case Anti-protest laws in Ukraine 2014 Odesa clashes 2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots 2014 RSA occupations Agreement on settlement of political crisis in Ukraine Revolution of Dignity
Aftermath	2014 pro-Russian unrest Timeline Russian military intervention 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia Timeline War in Donbas timeline First Yatsenyuk government Lustration in Ukraine Decommunization in Ukraine
Elections	2014 Ukrainian presidential election 2014 Ukrainian local elections 2014 Kyiv local election 2014 Crimean status referendum 2014 Donbas status referendums 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election
Main places	Maidan Nezalezhnosti Mezhyhirya Khreshchatyk Lypky Bankova Street European Square Hrushevskoho Street Dynamo Stadium Kyiv City Council Trade Unions Building Ukrainian House Mariinskyi Park October Palace Kyiv Conservatory
European integration	Ukraine–European Union relations Eastern Partnership European Union Association Agreement European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement Constitution of Ukraine
Protest figures	Organizations Maidan People's Union Euromaidan Press Parliamentary opposition parties Batkivshchyna Svoboda UDAR Other parties Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists Democratic Alliance UNA–UNSO United Left and Peasants Civic organizations Automaidan Road Control Vidsich Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Militant groups Right Sector Spilna Sprava Lead figures Vitali Klitschko Arseniy Yatsenyuk Oleh Tyahnybok Petro Poroshenko Yuriy Lutsenko Oleksandr Turchynov Yulia Tymoshenko Andriy Parubiy Andriy Sadovyi Arsen Avakov Ruslana Tetiana Chornovol Dmytro Bulatov Dmytro Yarosh Refat Chubarov
Anti-protest figures	Organizations Second Azarov government Ministry of Internal Affairs Internal Troops of Ukraine Security Service of Ukraine Berkut Militsiya (Ukraine) Party of Regions Titushky Night Wolves Don Cossacks Antimaidan Lead figures Viktor Yanukovych Mykola Azarov Serhiy Arbuzov Vitaliy Zakharchenko Oleksandr Yefremov Andriy Klyuyev Hennadiy Kernes Mykhailo Dobkin Viktor Pshonka Olena Lukash Yuriy Boyko Leonid Kozhara Dmytro Tabachnyk Oleksandr Klymenko

• Sovereignty referendums
• 2014 Crimean crisis
• 2014 in Ukraine
• 2014 referendums
• Future referendums
• Referendums in Crimea