The CEC accredited 60 observers from the CIS to monitor the parliamentary elections
"The CIS Observer Mission for the elections of deputies of the House of Representatives has been monitoring the election campaign in Belarus since September 4. The formation of the mission is ongoing. To date, the CEC has accredited 60 observers from the CIS. We plan to have about 50 long-term observers, of whom 45 have already been accredited today. In total, our mission will include about 400 observers representing CIS states, the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth countries, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, and the CIS Executive Committee," Viktor Guminsky said.
The work of the CIS observers is coordinated by the Mission Headquarters, located in the building of the CIS Executive Committee. "Long-term observers were present during the formation of the Minsk City and Regional Election Commissions, as well as 37 district election commissions in Minsk and the Minsk region. The head of the mission, Sergey Lebedev, met with the leadership of the Brest Regional Election Commission. A meeting was held between the leadership of the Mission Headquarters and representatives of the Supreme Court, where issues related to the role and competence of courts in the electoral process, and the specifics of considering complaints and appeals received by the courts were discussed," the head of the Mission Headquarters noted.
According to him, in the near future, mission representatives will travel to all regions to observe the formation of precinct election commissions, as well as the registration of candidates for deputies. "We plan to closely cooperate with missions of other international organizations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent invitations to almost all international organizations: ODIHR OSCE, SCO, OSCE PA, PACE. There are already initial responses to the participation of certain organizations, but we do not have specific data yet," Viktor Guminsky emphasized.
The activities of the CIS observers are based on the principles of political neutrality, non-interference in the electoral process, and internal affairs of the state. The mission's assessments are based solely on its own observations, as well as official information and factual material provided by the election commissions.
"The task of the CIS observer mission is to promote free and democratic elections. The mission will present its conclusions at a press conference on November 18," Viktor Guminsky added.
Elections to the House of Representatives will be held on November 17.