SCO Secretary General: SCO observers recorded no violations in five days of early voting
No violations in five days of early voting in Presidential election in Belarus were recorded by the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation observer mission – as stated by SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev
“A mission of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation arrived in Minsk at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry to monitor the Presidential election in Belarus. Election and referendum monitoring is one of the SCO activities, and we regard the invitation of our election observation mission as a sign of trust, respect and at the same time the desire of the Belarusian leadership to ensure the openness of the electoral process and to improve it, as well as to attract a broader list of observers for such work," Mr. Yermekbayev said.
The SCO Secretary General noted that the mission assesses electoral processes in general. “Elections are held primarily in the interests of a particular state, and our main task is to evaluate them in terms of compliance with national legislation and international obligations,” he explained. “The members of our mission started their work during the pre-voting period, and they are now present in different areas – not only in Minsk, but also in the regions. At the moment, we note the activity of Belarusian voters, and many young people are coming to the polling stations. We cannot make official statements yet, they will be formed at the end of the voting process – but I would like to note that we do not see any violations. All the necessary conditions for the work of our mission are provided at the highest level.”