SIMFEROPOL. March 17 (Interfax) - International monitors said the Crimean referendum has proceeded without violations and were in line with all international norms.
"The regulations establishing the procedures governing the referendum fully reflect international standards, including the right to the freedom to participate in a referendum, equality of the rights of all referendum participants, secrecy of voting, and an open and public referendum," Mateusz Piskorski, the head of the international observation mission, told a briefing on Monday.
Piskorski also said the referendum did not violate any laws of Ukraine and was not discriminatory against any of the peoples living in Crimea.
Piskorski also said the referendum was conducted well, despite the fact that the preparations for it did not take much time.
"The voting was free and the referendum participants were not made to take part in the referendum or not to take part in it," he said.
Piskorski said the election campaigning rules were observed in Crimea and the ballots were made before the referendum and their content was made public.
The group of foreign observers who monitored the referendum on the status of Crime said in their decision that the referendum was held in full accordance with international regulations.
The foreign observers said in their decision that there were no discriminatory restrictions on free expression of will during the referendum.
The questions in the ballots were written in three languages: Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean Tatar. Experts found the wording of the questions to be fully authentic.
Bela Kovacs, the head of the group and a member of the European parliament, has congratulated the people of Crimea on getting the right to freely choose their path to build their future.