05/09/2016 Election observation
An 11-member delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), led by Gisela Wurm (Austria, SOC), will travel to Belarus from 9 to 12 September to observe the conduct of the parliamentary elections on 11 September, alongside observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
The delegation will meet, in particular, leaders of political parties and their representatives, the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission and representatives of civil society and the media, before observing the ballot on 11 September.
Members of the Venice Commission – the Council of Europe's group of independent legal experts – will provide legal support during the visit.
In an 11 August 2016 declaration, the PACE pre-electoral delegation welcomed “the constructive co-operation of the Belarusian authorities on electoral standards and improvement of the electoral process”, and “the openness and the willingness of the authorities to invite a large number of international observers without imposing constraints on their work, in accordance with the country’s international commitments”.
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A joint press conference is scheduled on Monday 12 September at the Renaissance Hotel in Minsk (time to be confirmed).