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Russian Lawmaker: Rate of Democracy of Ukrainian Parliamentary Election Raises Questions

© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Fedorenko / Go to the mediabankThe speaker of the State Duma Sergei Naryshkin doubts that early Ukrainian parliamentary election will be absolutely democratic
The speaker of the State Duma Sergei Naryshkin doubts that early Ukrainian parliamentary election will be absolutely democratic - Sputnik International
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The speaker of the State Duma, lower house of Russian Parliament, Sergei Naryshkin said Saturday he doubts that early Ukrainian parliamentary election will be absolutely democratic.

Updated 2:13 p.m. Moscow Time

MOSCOW, September 13 (RIA Novosti) - The speaker of the State Duma, lower house of Russian Parliament, Sergei Naryshkin said Saturday he doubt that early Ukrainian parliamentary election will be absolutely democratic.

"The rate of freedom and democracy of the election causes many questions as factions of two political parties were over several months. It is a very big question about political competition," Naryshkin told reporters.

"The skepticism about the rate of its freedom and democracy comes from several important conditions. May election be called absolutely free under the conditions of major limitations for the media and those of freedom of speech?" the senior Russian lawmaker said.

Naryshkin reminded that Russian television channels in Ukraine were closed, while a big group of Russian reporters was put on black lists, four journalists were killed, several others tortured.

Another reason is the problem of refugees, Naryshkin said.

"As it is known, about one million Ukrainians fled their native cities, houses running away from the death. About 815,000 crossed the border into the Russian Federation. It's obvious that most of them simply cannot participate in the election," the State Duma speaker said.

Moscow hopes the election will result in organization of stable, democratic legal power in that country, Naryshkin added.

"There remains great skepticism but it will certainly be a significant and important event in the political history of Ukraine and we would very much like to see this event as a positive one, with the election leading to the creation of a legitimate, stable, democratic authorities in our sister country, not to further legitimization of nationalists, and even national socialists," the Russian lawmaker said.

Late August, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko dissolved the country's parliament arguing the body's current composition failed to meet the interests of the Ukrainian society. The parliamentary vote is scheduled on October 26.

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