Rebel-held regions in Eastern Ukraine prepare for elections

(Vatican Radio) Rebel-held regions in eastern Ukraine prepare to elect their own legislators and executives  in a vote that has been condemned by the West, but backed by Russia. Sunday's ballot means a major challenge to the central  government in Kiev, where President Petro Poroshenko has given his support to Arseny Yatsenyuk  from the People’s  Front Party for a new term as prime minister. Yatsenyuk and other pro-Western parties won last week's national elections,  but in Ukraine's war-torn east millions were unable to vote due to ongoing clashes.  

Listen to this report by Stefan Bos

Pro-Russian separatist authorities hope however that the elections in the self declared Donetsk Peoples Republic and  Luhansk Peoples Republic will lend legitimacy to their aspirations for self-rule. 

Three candidates are running to lead the rebel government in Donetsk, but only current leader  Alexander Zakharchenko is expected to win due to his public profile. 

Yet, preparations for the elections have been overshadowed by ongoing clashes between rebels and Ukrainian  government forces, with ongoing artillery and small weapons fire clearly audible near Donetsk city's airport.  

 

Western governments and the United Nations say the vote violates the terms of an already shaky cease-fire, which was signed by Russia, Ukraine and the separatists in September. 

The Russian Foreign Ministry disagrees, saying the accord inked in Minsk, Belarus, foresaw local elections in   the rebel-held territories by November 3rd.

However The United States says the vote violates Ukraine's constitution. Washington has warned Moscow  not to use the election results as an excuse to move further into Ukraine, after Russia annexed the Crimean  Peninsula earlier this year. 

Whoever wins will face an increasingly desperate population in Donetsk. 

Outside the iconic football stadium in Donetsk, people are queuing for food from the early morning hours. 

Many face food shortages following months of fighting that killed 3,700 people. 

They receive aid from a foundation led by the controversial oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, who owns the stadium and  the football team.   

"The program was launched on the 20th of October," said Mykola Ivaschenko, a coordinator of the Akhmetov  Donbass Fund. "We have already helped more than 3,500 children."

Yet many more people are awwaiting aid and it remains doubtfull whether their lives will improve soon after Sunday's ballot.