jones industrial average is up sharply as investors watch the crisis unfold. >> ahead of the election commission, 97% of voters support joining russia. crimea's parliament declared the region's independence this morning. elizabeth, good morning. >> reporter: while the diplomatic standoff international one is getting sharper, the thousands of cri crimeans who voted yesterday now believe they are firmly on the way. as soon as the tally was in -- the party started. crimea's new prime minister said aloud what many in the crowd were feeling. dear friends, he said, we are going home to russia. voting on sunday was orderly, and the turnout heavy. the government said 83% of voters cast ballots. most of them firmly convinced that a vote for russia was a vote for a better life. >> i think that people -- i expect it to be the majority toward a referendum. what it means is that people believe and they think that they would be with russia. >> reporter: in moscow, too, a huge demonstration on the weekend helped popular the idea of annexing the crimea is. for older russians, especially, it evokes the glory days of soviet might and the cold war. a popular anchor on state television even told his viewers last night -- russia is