IPA CIS Monitoring of Presidential Election in Belarus 2025

The IPA CIS international observers took part in the monitoring of the presidential election in Belarus at the invitation of Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Natalia Kochanova and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Igor Sergeenko. Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Konstantin Kosachev has been appointed as coordinator of the group.

On 21 January, international observers from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly held meetings with election organizers and visited a number of polling stations in Gomel.

On 22-23 January, the IPA CIS international observers monitored early voting at the presidential election in Belarus.

On 24 January, the IPA CIS international observers held meetings with the candidates for the post of President of Belarus: presidential candidate, chair of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice Alexander Khizhnyak, candidate of the Communist Party of Belarus Sergei Syrankov, candidate for the presidency of Belarus Anna Kanopatskaya, candidate for the presidency of Belarus, chair of the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus (LDPB) Oleg Gaidukevich.

Introducing the group during the meetings with the candidates, Secretary General of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy noted that it was composed of experienced observers - representatives of the parliaments of the CIS Member States and experts of the International Institute for Monitoring the Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD).

“We are working in all regions of Belarus. On 26 January, we aim to visit a large number of polling stations to get the most complete and objective picture of voting. Our work is a kind of “audit”, which results in the development and democratization of electoral processes,” - said the Secretary General.

On the same day, the IPA CIS international observers met with the head of the headquarters and authorized representative of the presidential candidate Alexander Lukashenko, Chair of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus Yuri Senko.

During the meeting, they discussed the work of the headquarters at all stages of preparation for the elections, the main provisions of the program and the peculiarities of the candidate’s campaign.

On 25 January, the IPA CIS international observers group at the presidential election in Belarus held a meeting in Minsk. The observers summarized the results of early voting observation and outlined the work plan for the coming days. Deputy Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat – Director of the IPA CIS IIMDD, Doctor of Law, Professor Ivan Mushket presented information on the main stages and results of the long-term monitoring.

On the same day, the IPA CIS international observers met with Speaker of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Igor Sergeenko and Chair of the Central Election Commission of Belarus Igor Karpenko within the framework of the monitoring of the presidential election in Belarus.

Group Coordinator, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Konstantin Kosachev handed over to the Speaker of the House of Representatives the Conclusion on the compliance of the electoral legislation of Belarus with international standards of democratic elections and the report of the expert group of the IPA CIS IIMDD  on long-term monitoring.

Also on the day, the international observers from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly met with Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Natalia Kochanova. The parties discussed the preparation and holding of the forthcoming presidential election.

On 26 January 2025, the main day of voting in the presidential election began in the Republic of Belarus. The elections were being monitored by the IPA CIS international observers group. “All conditions for free expression of will have been ensured,”- emphasized the coordinator of the group, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Konstantin Kosachev.

On 27 January, the presidential election was completed in Belarus. The IPA CIS international observers headed by the coordinator, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Konstantin Kosachev held a final meeting to exchange information on the observation.

“The country has made a choice that will affect not only life in Belarus itself, but also our common interaction in the Commonwealth of Independent States,” emphasized Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy. He noted the importance and effectiveness of cooperation in the electoral sphere, mutual exchange of best practices in the field of election organization.

The participants of the meeting noted that the elections had been held at a high organizational level, the observers had been able to carry out their work without hindrance. During the monitoring in Belarus the IPA CIS observers visited 321 polling stations.

Also a high level of training of election commission members, organization of voting, and voter activity were noted.

On the same day, Minsk hosted the final press conference of the CIS observer mission for the presidential election in Belarus. It was the largest at the elections and numbered 296 people. Representatives of the Commonwealth visited 2383 polling stations.

Head of the Mission, Secretary General of the CIS Sergey Lebedev noted that the elections were open and democratic. According to him, the observers did not record any gross violations. He called groundless assessments of the elections, made in absentia, “a thousand kilometers away from Minsk”. The CIS Secretary General noted the high turnout for the elections.

Coordinator of the IPA CIS monitoring group, the largest in the Mission, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Konstantin Kosachev said that the election of the President of the Republic of Belarus had been conducted in compliance with the rights and freedoms of all participants in the electoral process. The campaign complied with the norms of the national legislation and international obligations of the country in the electoral sphere. The conclusions were adopted unanimously by all the members of the group.

Konstantin Kosachev drew attention to the fact that the observers from the Assembly conducted not only short-term but also long-term monitoring by the IPA CIS IIMDD experts.

“This gave the opportunity to conduct a comparative analysis of best practices and form conclusions based on professional scientific findings,” - he said.

Also, it was noted at the press conference, that the best Belarusian practices will be adopted by colleagues from the CIS countries.