Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 18 May (BelTA) – The Belarusian Parliament attaches great importance to the cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Chairman of the Permanent Commission for State Construction, Local Government and Regulations at the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Gennady Gritskevich said at a roundtable held at the House of Representatives on 18 May to discuss electoral standards and the electoral process improvement in Belarus, BelTA has learned.

“The National Assembly of Belarus stays committed to the universal electoral procedures and attaches great importance to all-round cooperation with PACE, OSCE and other international organizations, including on the matters related to the organization and holding of elections. Thanks to seminars and conferences, we establish close ties that help take into account all main aspects of the law-enforcement practices,” the MP said.

“During the years of independence, the electoral legislation of the Republic of Belarus has evolved consistently. As a result of modernization of all spheres of public life, the country has created the modern electoral system that meets the highest democratic requirements,” Gennady Gritskevich said.

He added that Belarus has carried out the systematic work on improving the electoral legislation. The country has amended the Election Code many times in order to democratize the electoral process, including taking into account the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations,” the MP said.

The PACE representative, and also representatives of OSCE, the European Parliament, the European External Action Service, Venice Commission, Center for European Perspective and members of the both chambers of the Belarusian parliament are taking part in a roundtable on electoral standards and the electoral process improvement in Belarus. Attending the meeting, which is taking place in the House of Representatives, is also Chairperson of the Central Election Commission Lidia Yermoshina.