Newsroom
OSCE Special Co-ordinator for Belarusian election observation concludes visit to Belarus
MINSK 29 August 2001
MINSK, 29 August, 2001 (OSCE) - Kimmo Kiljunen MP (Finland), the Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, visited Minsk on 28 and 29 August 2001. Mr. Kiljunen has been named by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office as Special Co-ordinator for the OSCE Election Observation Mission to Belarus, due to be held on 9 September 2001. The team is being jointly deployed by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Limited Election Observation Mission. It will co-ordinate its activities with the observers from the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Mr. Kiljunen travelled to Belarus in order to experience at first hand the pre-election situation in Belarus, and to discuss issues arising from it with the Belarusian authorities, presidential candidates and representatives of civil society.
Of concern to Mr. Kiljunen is the denial of visas to two members of the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission. Whilst not disputing the right of any sovereign state to control its borders, Mr. Kiljunen stresses the importance of OSCE/ODIHR being able to determine the composition of its observation staff. The imposition of arbitrary restrictions risks jeopardising OSCE/ODIHR's ability to conduct an independent observation.
However, in other areas, Mr. Kiljunen wishes to note that there has been co-operation with the Belarusian authorities; particularly with regard to the accreditation of OSCE/ODIHR's observers.
Mr. Kiljunen held meetings with Deputy Prime-Minister and Foreign Minister Khvostov, Chairperson of the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda Yermoshina, Presidential Candidates Messrs. Gaidukevich and Goncharek, and representatives of the Domestic Election Observation Network, Analytical Think-Tanks and Human Rights NGOs. In these meetings he expressed concerns over the procedures governing early and mobile voting, which present opportunities for electoral manipulation.
Mr. Kiljunen welcomes initiatives designed to enhance the transparency of the vote tabulation and aggregation stages of the electoral process. He believes that any measure which enhances public confidence in the election result should not only be welcomed, but also supported by the Belarusian authorities and civil society.
Whilst Mr. Kiljunen looks foward to his return to Belarus for the election itself, he hopes that the reported incidents of media harassment and human rights violations will stop, thus improving the environment necessary for a free and fair election.
--
For further information, please contact Andrew Carpenter, Political Counsellor, OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus, Prospekt Gazety Pravda 11, 220116 Minsk, Belarus.
Tel.: + 375 17 272 34 97 - Fax: + 375 17 272 34 98 - E-mail: [email protected]
Mr. Kiljunen travelled to Belarus in order to experience at first hand the pre-election situation in Belarus, and to discuss issues arising from it with the Belarusian authorities, presidential candidates and representatives of civil society.
Of concern to Mr. Kiljunen is the denial of visas to two members of the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission. Whilst not disputing the right of any sovereign state to control its borders, Mr. Kiljunen stresses the importance of OSCE/ODIHR being able to determine the composition of its observation staff. The imposition of arbitrary restrictions risks jeopardising OSCE/ODIHR's ability to conduct an independent observation.
However, in other areas, Mr. Kiljunen wishes to note that there has been co-operation with the Belarusian authorities; particularly with regard to the accreditation of OSCE/ODIHR's observers.
Mr. Kiljunen held meetings with Deputy Prime-Minister and Foreign Minister Khvostov, Chairperson of the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda Yermoshina, Presidential Candidates Messrs. Gaidukevich and Goncharek, and representatives of the Domestic Election Observation Network, Analytical Think-Tanks and Human Rights NGOs. In these meetings he expressed concerns over the procedures governing early and mobile voting, which present opportunities for electoral manipulation.
Mr. Kiljunen welcomes initiatives designed to enhance the transparency of the vote tabulation and aggregation stages of the electoral process. He believes that any measure which enhances public confidence in the election result should not only be welcomed, but also supported by the Belarusian authorities and civil society.
Whilst Mr. Kiljunen looks foward to his return to Belarus for the election itself, he hopes that the reported incidents of media harassment and human rights violations will stop, thus improving the environment necessary for a free and fair election.
--
For further information, please contact Andrew Carpenter, Political Counsellor, OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus, Prospekt Gazety Pravda 11, 220116 Minsk, Belarus.
Tel.: + 375 17 272 34 97 - Fax: + 375 17 272 34 98 - E-mail: [email protected]