EU Says Failure Of 2 Belarusian Presidential Hopefuls To Register Weakens Trust In Process

EU Says Failure of 2 Belarusian Presidential Hopefuls to Register Weakens Trust in Process

The fact that Belarus failed to register two presidential hopefuls as candidates may undermine "confidence in the registration process," EU foreign policy High Representative Josep Borrell said Tuesday in a statement

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2020) The fact that Belarus failed to register two presidential hopefuls as candidates may undermine "confidence in the registration process," EU foreign policy High Representative Josep Borrell said Tuesday in a statement.

The Central Election Commission refused to register Viktor Babariko, suggesting that he had used foreign aid, and Valery Tsepkalo, who failed to gather 100,000 signatures in his support.

"The lack of transparency in the process of verification of the signatures supporting the presidential candidates, as already noted by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) in 2010 and 2015, undermines confidence in the registration process. Moreover, the legal provisions for candidate registration pose disproportionate and unreasonable barriers to candidacy, contrary to OSCE commitments and other international standards," the statement read.