As the chairman of the Central Election Commission of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina announced on December 26, the OSCE / ODIHR election observation mission arrogated to itself broad rights. "They undertake punitive functions. This goes beyond the idea of international supervision. This is an interference in internal affairs," the CEC head said.
According to her, the OSCE / ODIHR observes elections in compliance with its own standards and basically only in the member-countries of the former Soviet Union. She believes that if this institution of observation is removed, the organization will have practically nothing to write in its annual report. In addition, Lidia Yermoshina said that the OSCE / ODIHR had made no comments before the final report of its observers in the morning on December 20 for the first time in the whole election campaign.
The CEC Chairman notes that the OSCE does not actually ensure the observance of other human rights, not related to elections, BelTA informs.
Observers’ Discipline Needs Improving, Yermoshina
Lidia Yermoshina announced that the elections had first welcomed almost 40 thousand domestic observers, because of what the «commissions» had literally choked. According to her, public observers had often been directed by certain organizations and got paid for it as well: «The more acts of abuse — the more money.»
The head of the CEC announced that some of the observers had been threatened. Therefore, in her opinion, it’s necessary to improve discipline among them and impose certain duties.
Lidia Yermoshina also noted that about 130 opposition (0.25% of the total number of commission members) had participated in election commissions, which is the first time in the history of elections. Most of them did not complain and agreed with the vote count, and one of the opposition had even sent a letter with the compliments to the CEC.
