Presidential election 2025 in Belarus

First CIS long-term observers to go to Belarusian regions next week

MINSK, 24 July (BelTA) - The first groups of CIS long-term observers in the presidential elections will go to the regions next week, manager of the CIS observation mission at the Belarus presidential election Viktor Guminsky told the media after a meeting with CEC Chairwoman Lidia Yermoshina, BelTA has learned.

The mission starts working today. Because of the epidemiological situation, observers start monitoring at a later stage - the campaigning period. They will examine the readiness of polling stations, election commissions, will monitor early voting and the main election day. “Next week, the first groups of long-term observers will go to the regions to study the situation with the preparations for the elections, the course of the campaign,” Viktor Guminsky said.

These groups will be mainly formed from among members of the CIS Executive Committee and representatives of the CIS embassies in Belarus.

The process of establishment of the mission continues. The CIS Executive Committee sent out invitations to the CIS countries with a request to send their representatives. “We have already started accepting applications, in particular from the State Duma of Russia, from Milli Mejlis and the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan. There will be at least 15 people from the CIS IPA, MPs, and also staff of the IPA, the CIS IPA International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens,” Viktor Guminsky informed.

No applications have come from other states so far. Viktor Guminsky expressed hope that the mission would include enough members.

The mission will issue a statement on the election campaign in Belarus on 10 August.

CEC Chairwoman Lidia Yermoshina informed observers on the election campaign. “It has been pretty rough from the very beginning. Attempts are taken to disorganize the work of election commissions,” she said. 

As an example, Lidia Yermoshina mentioned the initiatives ‘to organize some parallel vote counting on the internet’. She called it ’a violation of the constitutional principle, which determines that elections in the country are organized and conducted by election commissions’. “No other bodies are vested with the right to exercise any control over the expression of the will of citizens. These actions are legally negligible and do not entail any legal consequences for the election campaign,” the CEC head said.

The presidential election in Belarus is scheduled for 9 August. On 14 July the Central Election Commission registered five presidential candidates.

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