Opinions & Interviews

CEC chief: Belarus prioritizes electoral sovereignty

MINSK, 19 September (BelTA) — Ensuring electoral sovereignty is Belarus' number one priority, Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Igor Karpenko said during a meeting of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko with the heads of the CIS election bodies in Minsk on 19 September, BelTA has learned.

During the meeting the Belarusian head of state noted that election campaigns have long ceased to be a technical procedure, recently turning into a true battlefield.

In this regard, Igor Karpenko emphasized that Belarus' main task is to avoid this. "It should be a competition of political programs and candidates, citizens' equal access to all necessary information and creation of optimal conditions for them to freely express their will. Probably, these are the main approaches to elections."

Igor Karpenko said that in the West, for example, liberal parties go to election with social slogans, which do not correspond to their political programs.

"This is a kind of voter deception," Igor Karpenko believed. "It is difficult to understand the ideological platforms of some political parties which change not only its names, but also some political and ideological matters with each election."

He stressed that elections should be clear to voters: "If you adhere to a certain political, ideological platform, say honestly what you intend to do."

"Politicians should be responsible to the voters. Nowadays, we see everywhere that politicians go to election with one slogan, enter office and start to turn the country upside down. In this respect, ensuring electoral sovereignty is our priority. No wonder we have not just introduced this notion. We have established a new constitutional body, the Belarusian People's Congress as a guarantee of maintaining stability in the country, continuity of the political course and defining strategic priorities of the state and society development."

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