OSCE to send more than 300 observers to Belarus

The mission of the Bureau of Democratic Institutes and Human Rights of the OSCE has published a report with recommendations for monitoring of the election to the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus. BDIHR OSCE recommends establishing a standard mission for monitoring of the election which will take place on 28 September. The experts point at the obstacles to effective monitoring of the poll during the earlier elections. The Bureau hopes that the Belarusian authorities will guarantee the access of monitors to monitoring of the poll.

The Bureau hopes to receive from the official Minsk for monitoring of the election in the beginning of August. Besides experts, BDIHR asks OSCE to direct to Belarus 40 long-term observers who are to start working till the middle of August. There will be also a mission consisting of 300 short-term observers who will monitor the voting on the Election Day.

The evaluation mission was in Minsk on 9-12 and had meetings both with representatives of the authorities and the opposition.

According to Mikalai Lazavik, the secretary of the Central Electoral Commission, the invitation to the OSCE observers is to be sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. What concerns the number of the observers, he said: ‘What’s the difference? I think that our previous statements remain in force: we will limit members of BDIHR and CIS missions neither in number, nor in functions and status. We have always created the necessary conditions for foreign observers. This practice will continue during the present electoral campaign.’