Russia has begun local elections in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine in a move to cement Moscow’s authority, Sky News reports.

Votes are being held in occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.

The exiled Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko said that there is no trust from the people toward this process, “which should be called a sham election.”

According to him, Russian-installed officials are reportedly walking from apartment to apartment, talking to people, while armed occupiers standing nearby, telling the people that they must vote.