Voter turnout at pseudo-referendum in Crimea was maximum 30-40 percent - Mejlis

Mejlis Deputy Chairman of the Crimean Tatar People Akhtem Chiygoz expressed this view to Ukrinform.

"Maximum voters, who in the best times and in a peaceful environment could come to the polls and vote for a particular party or a particular candidate, never exceeded 40 percent. And now all 70 percent and without participation of the Crimean Tatars," Akhtem Chiygoz said.

"Having a great experience in organizing elections of different levels, I can say at least taking Bakhchysaray district as an example, and the people are very active [there], even in the best times, when the power and the candidates themselves made ??every effort to ensure the voter turnout, the percentage of participation in the elections has never exceeded 40 percent. This is on the condition that the Crimean Tatars actively participated in them, "Chiygoz said.

A so-called referendum "on bayonets" that takes place actually in the wartime conditions scared the people to the extent that the streets of some cities were deserted, Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis says.

"How can you say that in the village, where the Crimean Tatars live, the voting level is 70%,” Chiygoz is surprised.

There can be no question of any 60-70 percent of voters, declared by the self-proclaimed Crimean government, he said.

Given that about 99% of Crimean Tatars were not involved in the pseudo-referendum, the number of voters can make up 30 or 40 percent at the maximum, Chiygoz said.

At the same time, he noted that "reports of the Crimean electoral commission with high participation of Crimean inhabitants in the so-called referendum does not surprise me, because the results were "predicted" long before the event.