Belarusian Central Election Commission Chairperson Lidia Yermoshina has slammed, in a comment for Sputnik, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)'s assessment of the Belarusian parliamentary elections as shallow, one-sided and insufficiently substantiated
MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2019) Belarusian Central Election Commission Chairperson Lidia Yermoshina has slammed, in a comment for Sputnik, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)'s assessment of the Belarusian parliamentary elections as shallow, one-sided and insufficiently substantiated.
As a result of the elections to the lower house, held on Sunday with a 77.22 percent turnout, 110 lawmakers were elected in 110 constituent entities, while no opposition politicians got seats in the Belarusian legislature. The head of the OSCE observer mission, Margareta Cederfelt, said on Monday that the elections had showed "lack of respect for democratic commitments," adding that many opposition candidates had been prevented from running in the elections due to the government's restrictions.
"I can say that we see the [OSCE] report as quite one-sided. Facts are presented lopsidedly, this is why the report is subjective," Yermoshina said on Tuesday.
According to the head of the commission, if one refers to revocation of candidates' registration, one should always check whether it has been a reasoned decision in compliance with the national legislation.
"This is also the case of election campaigning. In this case, correspondence with the national legislation should also be checked. If we talk about facts, as they [OSCE observers] see it, of falsification and [ballot] stuffing, then they should certainly indicate what these statements are based on," Yermoshina went on to say.
Yermoshina added that the report seemed "shallow and based on rumors and impressions."
"It lacks argumentation," Yermoshina stressed.
She also voiced the belief that the preliminary report of the OSCE observers should be treated seriously yet critically.
