Belarus parliament elections

BREST, 11 September (BelTA) – All the candidates in the parliamentary elections in Belarus enjoyed equal opportunities, Suleiman Mukashev, Advisor to the CIS Executive Committee told BelTA. The CIS official participates in the monitoring of the parliamentary elections in Belarus.

“The elections feature a wide range of political parties. This shows that democratic processes are underway in the country, and every party can nominate a candidate to the House of Representatives. There are no obstacles and restrictions in this regard, all the candidates enjoy equal opportunities. Now its people’s turn to have their say,” the international observer noted.

“The candidates should demonstrate their best qualities and be respected persons so that people could trust them,” stressed another CIS observer, member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia Yelena Perminova.

Yelena Perminova already participated in monitoring of elections in Belarus before. She noted that candidates’ activity has increased. “There are many candidates willing to get a seat in the parliament. The number of candidates has doubled from the previous parliamentary elections. This means that citizens show increased activity, and more parties participate in the elections. Almost 500 candidates are running for 110 parliamentary seats. The number is quite big. And the voters have options to choose from,” Yelena Perminova noted.

The observers also emphasized the high level of organization of the elections and the high degree of expertise demonstrated by members of election commissions. On 11 September, they visited ten polling stations in Brest and have plans to monitor the vote count.

Some 40 CIS observers and a group of OSCE/ODIHR long-term international observers are monitoring the parliamentary elections in Brest Oblast. Besides, over 4,000 national observers have been accredited by election commissions. The candidates’ proxies also participate in the monitoring of the elections in the region.