Voters in rebel-held eastern Ukraine turned out at the polls Sunday to elect members of Parliament and prime ministers in the pro-Russian separatist provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in a vote criticized by the Ukrainian government in Kiev and Western governments.

Against a backdrop of violence and bloodshed, the vote played out despite a truce on paper between pro-Russian separatist groups and Ukrainian government forces.

Moscow has said it will recognize the results, while the central Ukraine government in Kiev, the United States and European Union have condemned the elections, calling them "illegitimate" and a violation of the Minsk agreement.

The head of the Central Election Commission in Donetsk has already announced preliminary election results. The current Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Donetsk, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, is leading in exit polls with 81% of the vote, according to Roman Lyagin, the leader of the Central Election Commission in Donetsk. He made a statement to Novorossiya, the press center for the Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The CEC in Donetsk estimates a voter turn of 70% to 75%.

"Everything went better than expected," Lyagin said in a press center quote.

In the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, the head of the Central Election Commission said more then a half million people turned out to cast ballots at over 100 polling stations, including three inside Russia, according to preliminary numbers from the CEC's website. The vote count is now under way.

Earlier Sunday, Luhansk CEC head Sergei Kozyakov told Itar-Tass so many people turned out to vote they extended polling station hours at several locations until 10 p.m.

The Russian news agency also reported on a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, which said it considers the vote valid.

"The elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions were held in an organized way in general and with high voter turnout," the ministry said, according to Itar-Tass. "We respect the will expression of the citizens of the southeast."

Authorities in Kiev are basically ignoring the election. In a statement Sunday, the Security Service of Ukraine said "it is a false election ... and a farce organized by criminals to collect data about people."

Before the vote, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the ballot "pseudo elections ... by terrorists and bandits."

Ukrainian authorities also said Sunday they are launching a criminal investigation into the separatist elections, calling it "a power grab," Agence France-Presse reported, citing the Security Service of Ukraine.

(CNN)