Chair of Central Election Commission of Republic of Belarus Igor Karpenko Told IPA CIS Observers About Preparations for Presidential Election

The IPA CIS International observers discussed the preparations for the presidential election of the Republic of Belarus with Chair of the Central Election Commission of Belarus Igor Karpenko. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chair of the CEC Alexei Bashan and Secretary of the CEC Elena Baldovskaya. The event was held within the framework of long-term monitoring in the online format.

Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy said that at that moment a group of observers was being formed from representatives of the parliaments of the Commonwealth countries, officials of the Assembly and experts of the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD). Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Konstantin Kosachev has been appointed as coordinator of the group.

He said that in their work the IPA CIS observers were guided by the principles of respect for sovereignty, impartiality, effective assistance, non-interference in the internal affairs of states, which were enshrined in the Convention on Standards for Democratic Elections in the CIS countries and the IPA CIS Declaration on the Principles of International Elections and Referendum in the Commonwealth countries.

The head of the Central Commission said that early voting would last from 21 to 25 January and reminded that there is no “Day of Silence” in the Republic of Belarus. The results of the election campaign will be summarized within 10 days after the elections.

Deputy Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat – Director of the International Institute for IPA CIS IIMDD, Doctor of Law, Professor Ivan Mushket thanked the head of the CEC for effective cooperation and expressed hope for assistance in holding meetings with the chair of regional election commissions.

On 18 December, the IPA CIS International observers started long-term monitoring, during which they visited the election commission of city Svetlogorsk of Gomel region.