Incumbent PM Aleksandr Zakharchenko is leading in Sunday's elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine, taking over 70 percent of the votes. In Lugansk, 63 percent are voting for the current leader Igor Plotnitsky, reports GHN based on RT.
Zakharchenko is ahead of his rivals with over 70 percent of votes after half of the votes have been counted, the head of the Central Election Commission of the DPR, Roman Lyagin, said on Sunday evening.
He was trailed by Aleksandr Kofman, deputy speaker of the Novorossiya Union parliament, and Yury Sivokonenko, an MP from the local Supreme Council.
Meanwhile, the lead in the parliamentary elections - also held on Sunday - is being claimed by Zakharchenko's Donetsk Republic party, which has 65.11 percent, the head of the Election Commission added citing exit poll. The rival Svobodniy Donbass party is collecting 34.89 percent of the votes.
In Lugansk, the incumbent leader and head of the Peace to Lugansk Region movement, Igor Plotnitsky, has secured 63 percent of the votes, according to a preliminary count cited by RIA Novosti. The party has won 69 percent of votes, while some 24 percent voted for its closest rival, the Lugansk Economic Union.
The self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk took to polling stations to vote for their leaders and MPs on Sunday. Over 360 polling stations were open in Donetsk for three million potential voters. Meanwhile, 102 polling stations for approximately 1.5 million voters were open in Lugansk.
In Lugansk, the overall turnout exceeded 60 percent, according to the head of the Central Election Commission in the LPR, Sergey Kozyakov. He added that by 8p.m. local time, nearly 630,000 residents had come to cast their votes.
Kiev has said it will not recognize the elections, as they contradict Ukrainian legislation. Ukraine's Security Service has opened a criminal case against the organizers of the elections in Donetsk and Lugansk.
EU's new foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has also spoken out against the elections, arguing that it will be an obstacle to reconciliation in Ukraine.
"I consider today's ‘presidential and parliamentary elections' in Donetsk and Luhansk ‘People's Republics' a new obstacle on the path towards peace in Ukraine. The vote is illegal and illegitimate, and the European Union will not recognise it," Mogherini said in a statement.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko condemned the elections as illegitimate on Sunday and called on Russia not to recognize the results. "I count on Russia not to recognize the so-called elections because they are a clear violation of the September 5 Minsk protocol, which was also signed by Russia's representative," he said in a statement.