USA: Belarus vote falls short of international commitments for free and fair elections


The United States is disappointed that the elections fell significantly short of Belarus’ international obligations and commitments for free and fair elections, as demonstrated by reports from the OSCE ODIHR and Parliamentary Assembly election observation missions.

These reports noted serious problems with the counting and tabulation of votes, the composition of territorial and precinct election commissions, as well as a lack of fundamental reform to Belarus’ flawed legal framework governing elections, the statement on the website of the U.S. Department of State says.

“A free and vibrant media, space for civil society organizations and opposition parties to operate, and full access for international and domestic election observers are essential to ensuring free and fair elections. We commend the participation of opposition political parties and independent media, but the inability of international and domestic monitors to observe the vote count, and the almost complete absence of opposition party or independent members on election commissions, are inconsistent with these democratic processes and norms,” the statement reads.

At the same time, the United States welcomes the ‘peaceful conduct’ of the recent presidential election in Belarus.

TWITTER