ODIHR mission releases final report on October's parliamentary elections

2004-12-21 11:45:00

Minsk, 21 December. An election observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has released its final report on Belarus' October 12-17 parliamentary elections, making a number of recommendations for the Belarusian authorities. According to the ODIHR mission's conclusion, the elections "fell significantly short of OSCE commitments." "Universal principles and constitutionally guaranteed rights of expression, association and assembly were seriously challenged, calling into question the Belarusian authorities' willingness to respect the concept of political competition on a basis of equal treatment," the mission says in the report. "It is also of concern that during the election campaign, President Lukashenko affirmed that the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Belarus have 'elements of authoritarianism." The voting procedures on the main polling day, October 17, were generally carried out in accordance with regularities, the mission says, noting, however, that there were "serious irregularities" related to the vote count and during the five-day early voting period. "Deficiencies in the legislative framework were compounded by the restrictive and arbitrary application of the law, and the failure of the Central Commission on Elections and National Referenda (CEC) to ensure uniform procedure," the report reads. "Principles of an inclusive democratic process, whereby citizens have the right to seek political office without discrimination, candidates to present their views without obstruction, and voters to learn about them and discuss them freely, were largely ignored." In this regard, the ODIHR observers offer the Belarusian authorities a number recommendations for improving the holding of elections. They "strongly" urge the Belarusian authorities to abolish "unjustifiable restrictions" on the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association and undertake a wide-ranging review of the Electoral Code with a view to introducing "greater clarity, transparency and uniformity of procedure" and ensuring "independence of the election administration from the executive authorities." The OSCE experts emphasize the need to amend the country's Electoral Code "to guarantee a minimum monetary amount sufficient to convey a candidate's campaign message that must be provided to each candidate." "It should further be amended to include a transparent and accountable system for candidates to receive campaign contributions directly, including from private sources," the report says. The mission also suggests reducing the voter turnout threshold for elections "to a more reasonable level, such as 25 percent in the first round," and giving an opportunity to the military to vote "outside the supervision of their commanding officers." It stresses that the candidates' programs should not be subject to censorship and all candidates or political parties should have equal access to the media. However, the mission notes, "without a political will to improve the overall environment in which elections take place in Belarus, technical improvements will have very little impact."