Long-term observers of the OSCE/ODIHR are today commencing their monitoring of the Presidential election in the regions of Belarus, BELTA reports.
Long-term observers of the OSCE/ODIHR are today commencing their monitoring of the Presidential election in the regions of Belarus, BELTA reports.
The OSCE/ODIHR officially opened its election observation mission on August 26, headed by French diplomat Jacques Faure. The mission includes a core team of 11 experts (from 10 countries) working in Minsk, and 36 long-term observers (from 16 countries) who will be deployed in pairs across the country. In addition, the OSCE/ODIHR will invite 400 short-term observers to monitor the election process in the country. They will monitor candidate and voter registration, campaign events, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, election legislation and its application, as well as the resolution of election-related complaints. The mission will also monitor media campaign coverage.
During the observation, meetings will be held with representatives of government bodies and individual candidates, civil society, the media, and the international community.
On October 11, observers will monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting process, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results. On election day, the mission plans to join forces with delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and other parliamentary partners.
A statement of preliminary findings and conclusions will be published on October 12. A final report on the observation of the entire election process will be published in approximately two months.
Currently, a monitoring mission from the Commonwealth of Independent States is also operating in Belarus.