OSCE issues final report on Belarus` parliamentary vote

The mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights that observed Belarus` most recent parliamentary elections issued a final report, confirming its preliminary conclusions that the vote fell short of international standards , BelaPAN said.
 

Not a single opposition candidate received a seat on the House of Representatives as a result of the September elections.

"The election environment in Belarus, as created by the present election legislation, still did not allow genuine political competition and equal treatment of election competitors by the authorities," the mission says in the report. "Serious concerns remain pertaining to fundamental rights of freedom of assembly and expression, and access to a plurality of views, constituting meaningful information necessary for voters to make an informed choice."

"The legislative framework continues to present obstacles to the conduct of elections in line with OSCE commitments," it says.

Among positive developments, the mission cites the slightly increased access of opposition representatives to district election commissions, the authorities` decision to repeat once the five-minute candidate spots on state television networks, and the central election commission`s recommendation to seal ballot box slots overnight during the five-day early voting period.

The mission notes that the level of party representation on lower-level election commissions was "negligible even taking into account the minor role of political parties in the country," and that political parties played a minor role, with the most part of candidates running as non-party affiliates partially "as a strategy, particularly among opposition supporters, to increase their chances of being registered."

"While most opposition candidates were able to register, and no candidates were de-registered, a number of nominees were denied registration for minor breaches of formal requirements," the report says. "Overall, the restrictive manner in which the state authorities tried to provide formal equality to all candidates led to a minimum in terms of meeting venues, campaign financing and access to the media. Access to any additional resources was strictly constrained. This meant that a vibrant campaign, constituting real competition, was not observed."

"The election campaign remained muted throughout the country," it says.

The mission mentions the rejection of candidates` applications for outdoor meetings with voters, preferential treatment given to pro-government candidates, the decision of opposition candidates not to use "the narrow possibilities" offered to them for campaign, the media environment "constrained by the lack of media that provide alternative views and opinions," and the "insufficient media coverage of the campaign to enable voters to gain meaningful information about candidates in order to make an informed choice during elections."

It criticizes the country`s Electoral Code, which it notes "does not provide any clear mechanism for securely keeping the ballot boxes after the start of the five-day early voting period."

"The lack of any official protocols to document voting on each day of early voting remains a concern for the transparency and accountability of the process," it says. "These outstanding issues allow the possibility of electoral malfeasance, and this issue continues to be a key element in interlocutors’ professed lack of confidence in the electoral process."

According to the report, voting was conducted well on the major election day, but "the integrity of the process was undermined by the vote count, which was assessed by observers as bad or very bad in 48 per cent of observations."

It says that in some cases, observers were prevented from observing at the level of district election commission and not given access to the tabulation of election results.

"After announcing the final results, the central election commission did not publish them by polling station, neither on its website, nor in any other format. Thus, another key element of public transparency and accountability was not acted upon," the mission says. "Post-election day complaints and appeals, as well, underscored certain key concerns regarding sufficient access to legal redress."

The mission stresses that the "Belarusian authorities could seriously consider, and formulate effective and concrete steps, to act upon previous recommendations made by the OSCE/ODIHR in past election reports and legal opinions."

"These remain fundamental to the improvement of the electoral process," it says.

Source