January 17, Pozirk. Minsk has invited observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor the Belarusian presidential election scheduled for January 21-26, the state-run BelTA reports, citing the foreign ministry’s press office.
The news comes after the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly issued a statement last week to express regret about the lack of invitation for their monitors, noting that it hindered an impartial and independent assessment of the electoral process.
In September, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryžankoŭ said he doubted the need for inviting ODIHR observers. This observation will have no practical benefit since monitors are instructed “what to look at and how,” he said.
However, earlier this month, Alaksandar Łukašenka, who promised to improve relations with the West in his campaign manifesto, said authorities will consider inviting Western observers.
As of mid-January, the central election commission registered 456 foreign observers. Most of them represent the Russian-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and election officials from government-friendly countries as Minsk seeks flattering assessments.
The current presidential campaign is taking place in a purged political landscape amid a new wave of crackdown on regime critics. The five presidential bidders are Łukašenka, his supporters Aleh Hajdukievič, Alaksandar Chižniak, Siarhiej Syrankoŭ as well as former MP Hanna Kanapackaja.
The Belarusian opposition dismissed the election as a sham, noting that political reprisals prevent pro-democracy candidates from running and voters from freely expressing their will.
The country has not held a single free and fair election since 1996 by the OSCE standards. Minsk stopped inviting OSCE monitors after the 2020 disputed presidential election.
