CEC Chairman on foreign observers during Presidential election in Belarus

Foreign observers will be present at the 2025 Presidential election in Belarus, Chairman of Belarus’ Central Election Commission (CEC) Igor Karpenko shares with the ONT TV channel who will be invited and what criteria will be applied to them

According to the CEC Head, there will certainly be foreign observers. “The law clearly specifies the subjects, who has the right to invite international observers: the President of the Republic of Belarus, the Belarusian People’s Congress, both houses of Parliament, the Foreign Ministry and the Central Election Commission. We plan to invite heads and representatives of the CIS central electoral authorities and also expand the list of them. In addition, a number of other states will be invited – primarily those who are members of the World Association of Electoral Authorities, of which the Republic of Belarus is a member. There will, of course, be inter-parliamentary structures. Most likely, there will be the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO), which participated as an observer during the 2022 referendum and the single voting day."

When asked whether there might be guests from the OSCE, Igor Karpenko replied, “The approaches that this organisation has been demonstrating for the last few years, even for a dozen years, especially in the post-Soviet space… The OSCE sometimes discredits itself with politicised statements that can even be regarded as interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. After all, the principle of observation – laid down in the CIS Convention on Standards of Democratic Elections – is clearly defined. International observers should answer the main question: to what extent is the electoral process organised and conducted in line with national electoral legislation? And certainly international observers shouldn’t interfere in the affairs of the country and tell us what laws to adopt. It is no coincidence that the Head of State has been suggesting for years to get together within the OSCE and define these criteria that will be applicable to all states without exception. If we agree, adopt, and ratify, these criteria must be applied. The election should be organised and held in line with the current legislation. It is clear that citizens should receive comprehensive information about the candidates who will be registered. The CEC is ready to perform in full, in accordance with the legislation, those functions that are entrusted to us by the Constitution of Belarus and the electoral legislation.”