Election authorities say referendum on May 25 impossible

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 Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Andriy Mahera considers it impossible to hold a nationwide referendum on May 25 - simultaneously with the presidential elections.

He told this to reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday.

"Any nationwide vote on May 25 cannot be conducted organizationally,” the official said.

At the same time, he recalled that the referendum can only be called by the Verkhovna Rada, for there is no president in Ukraine, but only acting president.

Mahera also said: "If MPs decide on the all-Ukrainian referendum, the CEC will fulfill this decision. Based on the organizational capacity such a referendum can be held on June 15, 2014."

The CEC deputy chief also noted that any "referendum" that they want to hold in the "Donetsk Republic" will be illegitimate. "There is no and cannot be any legitimate referendum in the so-called Donetsk Republic. In Ukraine, either all-Ukrainian referendum or local referendums are possible after the adoption of the law on local referendums," he said.