Presidential election 2015 in Belarus

MINSK, 23 July (BelTA) – The Belarus President election will be observed by representatives of the established international organizations and people of name, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina said in an interview to the First National Channel of the Belarusian radio on 23 July, BelTA informs.

These will be representatives of the relevant international organizations and well-known people. These will be prominent international civil servants, statesmen, politicians of other states that will be invited to the country personally,” the CEC head said.

In her words, the observation mission of the CIS Executive Committee will start its work in early August. “The election ID No1 traditionally goes to Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee – CIS Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev,” she said. The OSCE mission will be deployed in the country in late August. “We have already hosted the OSCE needs assessment mission. Yet we do not know who will lead the mission. We also have no information on its membership,” the CEC Chairperson said.

According to Lidia Yermoshina, national public organizations of other states cannot be registered as observers in Belarus. "After all, the international observer is a representative of the state or the international organization that have the status. We cannot receive all those who wish to come,” she explained.

"We are open (for observers – note by BelTA), and this is perceived well. They go with pleasure to Belarus. It is much better to criticize democracy in a country where nothing threatens your safety and security. Even those who criticize have started to realize that the biggest achievement is the security and the right of citizens to safe expression of their will, safe voting. In Belarus this all is provided in full,” the CEC head said.

She also added that no one refuses to host international observation missions (at least in the OSCE region). The position of such authoritative power as the United States is as follows: the OSCE is entitled to their opinion, but this opinion is not binding on the territory of the United States. "With regard to Belarus and Russia, the OSCE has now accepted the criticism from our countries that if you decide to send monitoring missions, send them everywhere. Because it turns out that criticism is leveled only at those countries who agree to host these observation missions," summarized Lidia Yermoshina.