Alexander Zakharchenko named prime minister of eastern Ukraine after 'election' Mr Zakharchenko, a former mining electrician who was named prime minister of the self-declared republic in August, was the only real candidate in a vote designed to cement the legitimacy of a separatist movement that seized power by force earlier this year. While the elections went ahead in an orderly manner and saw long queues at many polling stations, they were marred by the lack of an electoral roll and the almost complete absence of any competitive campaigning. There were no non-separatist candidates, and neither Mr Kofman nor Mr Sivokonenko ran any kind of campaign ahead of the vote. Only two newly established parties, called the Donetsk People's Republic and Free Donbass, were included on the parliamentary ballot. Others, including the local communist party, were barred from running. The European Union strongly condemned the vote as "illegal and illegitimate," on Monday, saying it violated a ceasefire agreement signed in September and threatened to prolong the conflict in the region. "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," said Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief. "These 'elections' were held contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Minsk Protocol, signed by the representatives of the trilateral Contact Group, and obstruct efforts to find a sustainable political solution to the crisis," she added. The September 5 Minsk Protocol, which introduced a patchily-observed ceasefire, envisaged local elections only under a Ukrainian law granting devolved powers to eastern Ukraine. Russia endorsed the results of the elections, ignoring a plea from Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president, who described the vote as "a farce conducted under the barrels of tanks and machine guns." Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement: "We respect the will of the residents of South East [Ukraine]. The elected representatives have received a mandate to solve practical tasks to restore normal life in the regions. The Russian statement avoided references to "Novorossia" or the "peoples republics," and called for renewed dialogue with the "central government" in Kiev - implying that Russia still considers separatist held areas to be part of Ukraine. Rebel officials rejected that implication on Thursday, however. We do not have diplomatic relations with Ukraine. Kiev must come to terms with the idea that Donbass is not part of Ukraine. Whether they recognise our elections or not is their problem," Mr Lyagin said after announcing the results.