Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections launch observation of parliamentary elections
Minsk, June 7, 2016
The President of the Republic of Belarus fixed the date of holding the next elections of deputies to the Chamber of Representatives as September 11, 2016. According to articles 91 and 94 of the Constitution, deputies are elected for the period of four years on the basis of universal, equal, free, direct suffrage and by secret ballot.
Elections of deputies to the Chamber of Representatives of previous convocations raised serious criticism from international observers of the OSCE/ODIHR and from national independent observers, and from representatives of pro-democracy opposition. None composition of the Chamber of Representative was recognized to have been elected in accordance with the principles outlined by the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE. The elections in 2016 can become an important event in socio-political life of the state and raise great interest among subjects of political process, representatives of the civil society and citizens of Belarus, provided that they are held on the basis of the principles of freedom, democracy, and equality of all participants of the political process.
Bearing in mind the importance of independent assessment, we, representatives of Belarusian human rights organizations – the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center Viasna – start monitoring of the elections of deputies to the Chamber of Representatives within the civil campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections.
The monitoring aims to assess the electoral process and ensure human rights within the electoral campaign with regards to the Belarusian electoral legislation and international standards of free and democratic elections; to inform the Belarusian society and the international community on the course of the electoral campaign and conclusions made.
Observation over the elections of deputies to the Chamber of Representatives within the civil campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections will be carried out by members of our organizations strictly according to the acting national legislation.
Long-term observation over all stages of the electoral process and the socio-political situation will be carried out by 50 long-term observers all over the country. Long-term observers will be accredited by territorial and district election commissions.
The process of early voting will be observed by 400 short-term observers at 200 polling stations all over the country.
The result of the observation will be reflected in an analytical report, and recommendations will be drawn up in order to improve the electoral legislation. The recommendations will be sent to the newly elected legislative body. We hope that the results of our observation and the recommendations will be taken into account when making amendments to the Election Code of the Republic of Belarus.
The campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections is independent and politically neutral. We do not aim to support political parties or whatever political figures. We will assess the whole electoral process with maximum neutrality, on the basis of the principles of free, democratic and transparent elections, where people of our country can fully exercise their constitutional right to participate in running their own country.