Belarus parliament elections

MINSK, 12 August (BelTA) – The heads of the CIS and OSCE ODIHR missions, which have been sent to Belarus to monitor the parliamentary elections, intend to meet on the election day, 11 September, BelTA learned from representatives of the CIS mission.

Preparations for the forthcoming parliamentary elections were discussed during the meeting of representatives of the CIS mission and head of the OSCE ODIHR mission Cayetana de Zulueta Owtram. The sides discussed progress of the election campaign, agreed to stay in touch as part of the work, and agreed to arrange a meeting of the heads of the two election observation missions on the election day.

The CIS mission continues monitoring preparations for the electoral event, BelTA has been told. The mission’s HQ interacts with the Belarusian government agencies, which are responsible for dealing with complaints, applications, and statements concerning election legislation violations.

Yevgeny Sloboda, head of the CIS mission HQ, met with top officials of the Supreme Court and the Belarusian Interior Ministry. In particular, the meetings touched upon the readiness of Belarusian courts to look into all the complaints filed in the course of the election campaign in an objective and unbiased manner. Representatives of the Belarusian Interior Ministry informed about the measures being taken to ensure security prior to the elections and on the election day.

Members of the mission also discussed progress of the election campaign with the campaign office of the Communist Party of Belarus and the public association Belaya Rus.

Long-term observers of the CIS mission attended sessions of every third district election commission during the registration of parliamentary candidates. They believe that all the candidates have been granted equal legal conditions and uniform requirements have been applied to the registration process. The sessions proceeded in an organized and tactful manner with regard to the candidates. Tough competition for parliamentary seats was noted.

The CIS election observation mission is still in the process of development. As of 12 August it had 243 accredited observers, who represented Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, and the CIS Executive Committee.