English

Blacklisted members of OSCE PA denounce Belarus` elections

 

The two members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly who were denied visas to travel to Belarus to observe the September 18-23 elections for the House of Representatives denounced the vote as undemocratic.

One of the politicians, German MP Marieluise Beck, condemned in a statement on Monday the elections as a farce and said that the campaign had fallen short of democratic standards even before the voting.

Opposition forces were denied representation on election commissions, which ruled out independent control over the vote counting process, according to Ms. Beck.

She also mentioned pressure on opposition candidates for the lower parliamentary chamber and widespread compulsion to early voting.

The elections attracted very little interest from voters, the German politician said.

Ms. Beck called on the European Union to support Belarusian society, in particular abolish the visa requirement for Belarusian citizens.

The other member of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly blacklisted by the Belarusian authorities, Emanuelis Zingeris of Lithuania, condemned the elections as "another stage of enslaving Belarusians" and said that a lawful and democratic election would help many talented Belarusians direct their energy at "solving various important issues for Belarus and raising the competitiveness of the Belarusian nation in the present-day world."

In an interview with the Belarusian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Mr. Zingeris called for the release of Belarus` political prisoners. // BelaPAN