Newsroom
Role of Parliamentary Troika in Belarus elections
MINSK 14 October 2000
MINSK, 14 October 2000 - In connection with the visit of the Parliamentary Troika to Minsk, there has been considerable speculation as to the purpose of their visit and their role in the election process. In an effort to avoid any further misunderstandings, the Parliamentary Troika would like to clarify its goals and the nature of this particular mission.
The Troika of the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assemblies of OSCE and the Council of Europe was established in 1999 in order to promote the co-ordination of the political engagement of these European Institutions in the democratization process of Belarus. On the occasion of its visits to Belarus the Members of the Troika encouraged Government and opposition to establish meaningful dialogue on key issues of the upcoming parliamentary elections - transparency and fairness in their implementation, access of the political parties to the state controlled mass media, meaningful functions for the parliament to be elected and a period of peace with the discontinuation of the prosecution of political opponents by criminal and administrative court proceedings.
On the occasion of the Third Technical Conference in Vienna on August 30, 2000 it was agreed to send a Technical Mission of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in order to assess the framework conditions and to ask the Parliamentary Troika to continue their consultative work in Belarus also on the occasion of the elections and to observe them in their institutional capacity. The Troika Group has arrived in Belarus and will publish their political assessment of the situation in consultation with the Technical ODIHR mission, the Advisory and Monitoring Group and the independent domestic observer group.
The mission of the Parliamentary Troika is not an international observation mission, which traditionally involves a significant number of long-term observers and a great number of on site short-term observers to cover approximately 10 percent of all constituencies. Such an observation measure is undertaken under conditions, which meet European standards. That is at present not the case in Belarus.
The Parliamentary Troika, which is in principle in a position to visit polling stations has as its task to assess the political situation in light of the technical findings of the ODIHR Mission as well as to draw conclusions from the obvious shortcomings of the election process and of the continuing political and constitutional controversies, which have led to the internal division and international isolation of the country. It is expected that the Parliamentary Troika will continue to engage actively in the democratization process in Belarus and will continue to insist upon the fulfillment of the four benchmarks in the run-up to next year's Presidential elections.
At the end of this mission, the Parliamentary Troika, in conjunction with the OSCE AMG and the ODIHR will issue its assessment through a public statement on Monday, October 16, 2000 at 11.30 at the National Press Centre, Oktyabrskaya 5, Minsk.
For further information, please contact Andrew Carpenter, Political Counsellor, OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus, Prospekt Gasety Pravda 11, 220116 Minsk, Belarus.tel.: + 375 17 272 34 97 fax: + 375 17 272 34 98 e-mail: [email protected]
The Troika of the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assemblies of OSCE and the Council of Europe was established in 1999 in order to promote the co-ordination of the political engagement of these European Institutions in the democratization process of Belarus. On the occasion of its visits to Belarus the Members of the Troika encouraged Government and opposition to establish meaningful dialogue on key issues of the upcoming parliamentary elections - transparency and fairness in their implementation, access of the political parties to the state controlled mass media, meaningful functions for the parliament to be elected and a period of peace with the discontinuation of the prosecution of political opponents by criminal and administrative court proceedings.
On the occasion of the Third Technical Conference in Vienna on August 30, 2000 it was agreed to send a Technical Mission of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in order to assess the framework conditions and to ask the Parliamentary Troika to continue their consultative work in Belarus also on the occasion of the elections and to observe them in their institutional capacity. The Troika Group has arrived in Belarus and will publish their political assessment of the situation in consultation with the Technical ODIHR mission, the Advisory and Monitoring Group and the independent domestic observer group.
The mission of the Parliamentary Troika is not an international observation mission, which traditionally involves a significant number of long-term observers and a great number of on site short-term observers to cover approximately 10 percent of all constituencies. Such an observation measure is undertaken under conditions, which meet European standards. That is at present not the case in Belarus.
The Parliamentary Troika, which is in principle in a position to visit polling stations has as its task to assess the political situation in light of the technical findings of the ODIHR Mission as well as to draw conclusions from the obvious shortcomings of the election process and of the continuing political and constitutional controversies, which have led to the internal division and international isolation of the country. It is expected that the Parliamentary Troika will continue to engage actively in the democratization process in Belarus and will continue to insist upon the fulfillment of the four benchmarks in the run-up to next year's Presidential elections.
At the end of this mission, the Parliamentary Troika, in conjunction with the OSCE AMG and the ODIHR will issue its assessment through a public statement on Monday, October 16, 2000 at 11.30 at the National Press Centre, Oktyabrskaya 5, Minsk.
For further information, please contact Andrew Carpenter, Political Counsellor, OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus, Prospekt Gasety Pravda 11, 220116 Minsk, Belarus.tel.: + 375 17 272 34 97 fax: + 375 17 272 34 98 e-mail: [email protected]