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Over 9,600 observers accredited for local elections as of March 10

As many as 9,622 observers had the permission to monitor the March 18-23 local elections as of March 10, according to the central election commission.

The number included 8,276 observers fielded by pro-government NGOs, including 2,226 members of the Belarusian Association of Veterans, 1,749 members of the Belarusian National Youth Union, 1,635 representatives of Belaya Rus, 1,576 members of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, and 639 members of the Belarusian Women’s Union.

A total of 270 people had been accredited to observe the elections on behalf of political parties, including 218 representatives of the Communist Party of Belarus, 24 representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party, 11 representatives of the Belarusian Agrarian Party, 10 representatives of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice, and seven representatives of the United Civic Party.

A total of 555 observers had been fielded by “worker collectives” and 324 had been granted accreditation through the collection of voter signatures.

Amendments to Belarus’ Electoral Code that were adopted at the end of 2013 introduced an accreditation requirement for domestic observers. In the past, citizens of Belarus did not have to ask for permission to observe elections and were only required to notify election commissions of their plans. Now they have to obtain accreditation, which may be annulled if an observer is found to be in violation of regulations. //BelaPAN