ODIHR opens election observation mission in Belarus
MINSK, 15 October 2019 – Following an invitation from the country’s authorities, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission (EOM) for the 17 November early parliamentary elections in Belarus.
The mission is led by Corien Jonker and consists of a core team of 11 experts based in Minsk and 30 long-term observers, who will be deployed throughout the country from 23 October. In addition, ODIHR will request that OSCE participating States provide 400 short-term observers, who will arrive several days before the elections.
The mission will assess whether the elections are held in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely monitor fundamental aspects of the election such as voter registration, candidate registration, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, and the resolution of election-related disputes. As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor the media coverage of the campaign.
Meetings with representatives of state authorities, political parties, civil society, the media and the international community form an integral part of the observation.
On election day, the ODIHR EOM will join efforts with delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to observe the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation of results.
An interim report will be published to update the public and media during the course of the observation. The day after the election, ODIHR’s preliminary findings and conclusions will be presented at a press conference. A final report on the observation will be issued approximately two months after the end of the election process.
For further information, please visit www.osce.org/odihr/elections/belarus/429278 or contact Kira Kalinina, Media Analyst, at +375 29 660 5217 (Minsk mobile), or at kira.kalinina@odihr.by
or
Katya Andrusz, ODIHR Spokesperson, at +48 609 522 266 (Warsaw mobile), or at katya.andrusz@odihr.pl.