CIS Observer Mission Recognized Parliamentary Elections in Belarus as Free and Competitive

The final press conference of the CIS Observer Mission for the parliamentary elections in Belarus took place in Minsk.

Head of the Mission, Secretary General of theCIS Sergey Lebedev spoke about the monitoring results. In total, the Mission visited 1,819 polling stations. According to Secretary General of theCIS, elections were organized, dignified, and without violations.

The CIS observers based their conclusions on the Constitution and national legislation of the Republic of Belarus, and also adhered to the principles of non-interference in the electoral process, they are distinguished by a constructive and friendly approach.

The Head of the Mission added that at the meeting held the day before, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko conveyed gratitude to all observers from the CIS.

Coordinator of the IPA CIS monitoring Group, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Konstantin Kosachev also shared the results of the parliamentary elections.

According to Konstantin Kosachev, the group from the IPA CIS is the most representative, with a total of 44 MPs and experts. During the short-term observation phase, the mission from the IPA CIS visited 127 polling stations. All necessary conditions were provided for the work of international observers.

The coordinator of the group added that the parliamentary elections in Belarus were held in compliance with the rights and freedoms of all participants in the electoral process, in accordance with the norms of national legislation and international obligations of the Republic of Belarus in the electoral sphere.

Parliamentary elections were held in Belarus on 25 February. International observers monitored the early voting. As part of the short-term monitoring, they visited 27 polling stations in Minsk, as well as Brest, Grodno and Minsk regions.

The group included representatives of all legislative bodies of the Commonwealth countries that are members of the Interparliamentary Assembly, as well as experts from the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD). The conclusions of the IPA CIS observers will be presented after the announcement of the preliminary election results. The results of the observations will form the basis for the conclusion on the results of the electoral campaign.