Crimea took a vital step towards joining Russia on Tuesday when the region’s parliament formally voted to leave Ukraine if the electorate chooses that option in a referendum due to be held on Sunday. The vote is being billed as a chance for the Ukrainian territory’s peoples to decide fairly and freely their future, but it emerged on Tuesday that there is no room on the ballot paper for voting “Nyet” to control by Russia. The ballot paper for the contest, which was published by parliament, disclosed that Crimean voters will be given two options: either immediate “reunification” with Russia, or adopting the “1992 constitution” — which gives parliament the power to vote to join Russia.
The status quo, whereby Crimea has autonomy within Ukraine, does not appear on the ballot paper. In practise, experts said that this amounted to giving voters the choice between joining Russia immediately or joining Russia after a short delay.
“Those citizens who were content with Crimea remaining part of Ukraine on the same basis as it has been for the last 20 years do not have a voice in this referendum. There is no third option available,” said Keir Giles, an associate fellow of the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House.
Full Article: Join Russia now or later, asks Crimea ballot paper – Telegraph.