Belarus parliament elections

“Proceeding from the materials we had and our visits to polling stations, we, first of all, made a conclusion that the elections to the House of Representatives were held in line with the Belarusian legislation and the country's international commitments. Secondly, we did not find any violations of the national election legislation. Thirdly, we view the 2016 parliamentary elections in Belarus as open, free and legitimate,” noted Rashid Alimov.

In his words, the SCO mission arrived at a common view that the events of the election campaign were held openly and in line with the national legislation and were fully covered in the media. “We also saw that all the participants of the election process, regardless of his/her party membership, enjoyed equal rights,” the SCO Secretary General said.

He added that the mission did not receive any complaints and remarks from proxies and observers during the campaign. Rashid Alimov provided detailed information on the activity of the mission at the parliamentary elections and its visits to polling stations.

The SCO representatives arrived in Belarus on 7 September, held a number of meetings, including in the Central Election Commission. “We got familiar with the candidates’ election campaigning, the activity of the accredited observers and media representatives. We have a clear-cut idea of what is going on in Belarus and how the elections are organized,” said the Secretary General.