Belarus’ CEC Chairman: we clearly distinguish between people of the West and their political leadership
The anti-Belarusian statements of Western politicians are of no importance – as stated by Igor Karpenko, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Belarus, at a press conference at the CEC Information Centre on January 27th, answering a journalist's question about inviting observers from unfriendly countries to the Presidential election
“We clearly distinguish between the political elites in these countries and ordinary citizens. We are convinced that ordinary people in Europe, primarily in the neighbouring states, overwhelmingly share completely different positions, approaches, and opinions. I said earlier that these political elites will have to pass an exam for their citizens one day in the future. We already witness what is happening in Europe: some ‘political figures’ have been swept away from certain posts. Look at the leapfrog going on with the prime ministers in the UK, for example. People see all this,” Mr. Karpenko said.
Everything is treated differently in Belarus. Speaking of the international observers invited to the Presidential election, the CEC Chairman noted, “Normal people who are friendly to our country, who know it well and who have been co-operating with Belarus for years came. We did not invite [EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy] Kaja Kallas. We do not need her here, we know her Russophobic approaches. Let her stay in the European Commission and mind her own business. How should we treat her statement that she does not recognise the election in Belarus? It does not matter for me, and I think it is the same for our citizens.”
