Russian observers declare Belarus' parliamentary by-elections democratic

2001-03-19 17:20:00

Minsk, 19 March. The Russian observers have no doubt Belarus' March 18 parliamentary by-elections were democratic, Viktor Goncharenko, an electoral official from Russia's Bryansk, told reporters in Minsk on Monday. Mr. Goncharenko said he and his colleagues from Kaliningrad, the Komi Republic and Vologda had noticed no electoral violations and would report accordingly to Russia's central electoral commission. Mr. Goncharenko voiced surprise at the high voter turnout reported by Belarus' central electoral commission (72.7 percent), especially during early voting (10 percent between March 13 and 17). "Early voting is not normally that active. We believe five percent or less is normal for early voting," he said. Mr. Goncharenko also complained about Belarusian observers' poor training. Many lacked knowledge of electoral regulations, and their role was limited to "mere presence" at the polling stations, he said.