MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Russia’s undemocratic presidential elections and their illegitimate extension to the occupied territories
22.4.2024 - (2024/2665(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Michael Gahler, Andrius Kubilius, Vladimír Bilčík, Rasa Juknevičienė, Sandra Kalniete, Andrey Kovatchev, David McAllister
on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0253/2024
B9‑0260/2024
European Parliament resolution on Russia’s undemocratic presidential elections and their illegitimate extension to the occupied territories
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia,
– having regard to the statement of 18 March 2024 by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the European Union on Russian presidential elections and their non-applicability on Ukrainian territory,
– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation unreasonably refused to register as candidates in the so-called 2024 presidential elections any politicians critical of the regime and/or of the war of aggression against Ukraine, including some who had reportedly collected more than 100 000 signatures, as prescribed by the national legislation; whereas this underlines the disproportionate and unreasonable barriers to candidacy, which run contrary to Russia’s commitments as a participating state in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and to other international standards;
B. whereas, according to the claims of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin received 87.28 % of the votes cast in the presidential elections of March 2024;
C. whereas these so-called elections were undemocratic and were conducted in a highly restricted environment of systemic internal repression, during the Russian Federation’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine; whereas they featured voter intimidation, the denial of voters’ right to vote, the stuffing of ballot boxes, the large-scale falsification of protocols from the precincts and the detention of independent domestic election observers;
D. whereas the Russian authorities have continued to increase internal repression by cracking down on opposition politicians, civil society organisations, independent media and other critical voices through the use of repressive legislation and politically motivated prison sentences; whereas Russian voters were deprived of a genuine choice in these elections;
E. whereas these elections were also conducted in the occupied territories of Ukraine, such as the Crimean peninsula and parts of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and in Transnistria;
F. whereas crowds descended on polling places at noon on the final day of the elections in support of the ‘noon against Putin’ demonstration that Alexei Navalny had called for before he was murdered in prison after being subjected to torture and inhumane treatment;
G. whereas, in its 2021 recommendation on the direction of EU-Russia political relations[1], Parliament concluded that the constitutional changes implemented in June 2020 were illegal, as did the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in its 2023 resolution[2];
H. whereas, in its 2021 recommendation on the direction of EU-Russia political relations, Parliament stated that the EU should condemn any attempt by President Putin to remain in office beyond the end of his current and final presidential mandate on 7 May 2024 on the basis of the 2020 constitutional amendments, which it had assessed as ‘illegally enacted’;
I. whereas Russia did not invite the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) to observe the elections;
J. whereas the Council of Europe has, on numerous occasions, called on the international community not to recognise the legitimacy of Vladimir Putin as the president of Russian Federation and to end relations with him;
K. whereas the adoption of a position by the EU institutions, particularly the European Parliament, declaring these elections unfree and undemocratic and denying presidential legitimacy to Vladimir Putin would be viewed by the Russian democratic opposition in Russia and abroad as a very welcome sign of support for their fight for democracy;
1. Deplores the lack of democracy and freedoms, the systemic repression and the violations of civil and political rights in the Russian Federation, and deplores the fact that the Russian opposition has been brutally suppressed and that any critics of the Kremlin regime have either been imprisoned or forced out of the country;
2. Notes that during the so-called presidential elections in the Russian Federation, there were no genuine alternative candidates, no free media, no credible observers and no political freedoms;
3. Stands in solidarity with the Russian people who, in protest, crowded the polling places at noon on Sunday 17 March 2024 in Russia and abroad, as had been proposed by Alexei Navalny shortly before his assassination;
4. Stresses that the decision of the Russian authorities not to invite the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission to observe the elections shows that they want to deny voters an impartial and independent assessment of the elections;
5. Recalls its resolution of 28 February 2024 on the murder of Alexei Navalny[3], which states that the Kremlin regime and Vladimir Putin personally bear criminal and political responsibility for the death of their most prominent opponent, Alexei Navalny; stresses that these circumstances are sufficient grounds to deny Vladimir Putin’s presidential legitimacy;
6. Strongly condemns the fact that the so-called presidential elections of the Russian Federation were conducted in the occupied territories of Ukraine, in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and in Transnistria, in violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries;
7. Recalls that the procedure to grant Vladimir Putin more terms of office violated Russian domestic law and international legal principles;
8. Concludes that the presidential elections in Russia were undemocratic and devoid of legitimacy, and that Vladimir Putin’s presidency is illegitimate as a result;
9. Urges the international community to stop referring to Vladimir Putin as president of the Russian Federation once his current term of office expires on 7 May 2024 and to cease all contact with him, as he will have no political or moral mandate to enter into any further contractual relations on behalf of the Russian Federation, except in the pursuit of sustainable peace and for humanitarian purposes, such as to organise prisoner exchanges or to ensure that the deported children of Ukraine are returned to their homes;
10. Expresses its unwavering support for Russian civil society, the democratic opposition, and the people, both in Russia and in exile, who are seeking to transform their country into a democracy; demands that the Russian Federation stop its war of aggression against Ukraine and withdraw all its forces from foreign territory, and rejects Russian imperialism;
11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council and the Commission.
- [1] European Parliament recommendation of 16 September 2021 to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the direction of EU-Russia political relations (OJ C 117, 11.3.2022, p. 170).
- [2] Resolution 2519 (2023) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of 13 October 2023 entitled ‘Examining the legitimacy and legality of the ad hominem term-limit waiver for the incumbent President of the Russian Federation’.
- [3] Texts adopted, P9_TA(2024)0118.