RIA Novosti: Ukraine Elections Offer Hope for Overcoming Crisis: Russian Human Rights Council’s Head

MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian parliamentary elections went ahead according to Ukrainian law, which raises hope that the country could return to normal, the head of Russia’s Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov said Monday.

“As far as it can be judged from media reports, the elections were held normally. This raises hope that eventually life will go back to normal [in Ukraine],” Fedotov told RIA Novosti.

He revealed that the Council did not send its observers to the elections.

“Political issues in Ukraine are beyond our remit. We are concerned only with human rights and humanitarian issues, which is why we did not send any observers to the elections,” Fedotov said.

Early parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on Sunday. Ukraine’s Central Election Commission said Monday that voter turnout in the country’s parliamentary elections stood at 52.42 percent after compiling data from all 198 districts.

Currently, with 50 percent of ballots counted, the People’s Front has garnered 21.61 percent of the popular vote, with the country’s current president’s Petro Poroshenko’s Bloc close behind with 21.45 percent, according to the Central Election Commission.