The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has expressed regret over the fact that the observer mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has failed again to fully avoid politicized conclusions regarding the country's parliamentary elections
MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2019) The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has expressed regret over the fact that the observer mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has failed again to fully avoid politicized conclusions regarding the country's parliamentary elections.
According to the OSCE observer mission, the elections, held on Sunday, did not meet democratic standards, while fundamental freedoms, enshrined in the national constitution, were breached, and some opposition candidates were prevented from running in the elections due to restrictions of the government.
"The Belarusian side has acquainted itself with statements of international observer missions, summarizing the results of the parliamentary elections, held in Belarus. We have also taken note of the European External Action Service's statement on the matter ... We regret that the OSCE mission has failed to fully avoid politicized assessments and conclusions, just like in the past years. We also believe that conclusions and assessments of international observers should not be based on personal bias and subjective approach," the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The ministry also stressed that Belarus would not change electoral procedures and laws "on someone's order."
"We have repeatedly told our Western partners that we are ready for constructive criticism, but we will never accept groundless ultimate demonization, while if we decide to improve our electoral procedures and legislation, we will do it not on someone's order but at the request of our society and in an evolutionary manner. We are holding elections for our country and our people, not in favor of foreign forces," the Foreign Ministry added.
The country's Central Election Commission has already refuted the OSCE's conclusions as lopsided.
