Rebels declare victory in east Ukraine poll

Pro-Russia activists have declared a resounding victory in a twin referendum on sovereignty for eastern Ukraine, despite condemnation from the international community and Kiev, who called it a "criminal farce", amid violence, Al Jazeera reports,

Roman Lyagin, election chief of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic, said on Sunday that at least 89 percent of the Donetsk region's almost three million eligible voters voted in favour of self-rule.

With no international election monitors in place, it was impossible to verify the separatists' claims, reported the Associated Press news agency. The preliminary vote count was announced just two hours after the polls closed in an election conducted with paper ballots.

A second referendum organised by pro-Russian separatists was also held on Sunday in eastern Ukraine's industrial Luhansk region, but no immediate results were released.

Andy Hunder, the director of the Ukrainian Institute London, told Al Jazeera that the figures from the referendum were not representative of the whole eastern region. 

"I think in terms of the numbers there's no surprise there - the figure of 89 percent was actually intercepted in calls by the secret service two days ago, and they recommended to use this figure," said Hunder, adding that the biggest issue currently was for the presidential elections to take place, with the support of the Donetsk authorities and oligarchs. 

Ukraine's central government and the West had condemned the balloting as a sham and a violation of international law, and they have accused Moscow of orchestrating the unrest in a possible attempt to grab another piece of the country weeks after the annexation of Crimea.

Ukraine's foreign ministry called the twin referendum a "criminal farce," while the US and other Western governments said they would not recognise the outcome.