Opinion: Belarusians expect further development of independent and peaceful state
The main thing that Belarusians expect after the elections is the further development of an independent, sovereign and peaceful state – as noted by political scientist Piotr Petrovsky, a member of the Scientific Expert Council under the Central Election Commission (CEC), in his talk with Alfa Radio
According to the CEC, as of 2pm, voter turnout in the elections of deputies of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly and local councils stood at 59.17 percent. “A Single Voting Day worked as a practice. Traditionally, turnout during local elections is always lower than in parliamentarian elections, let alone the presidential. Now we see that by 2pm almost 60 percent of voters had already cast their ballot. I think, at least 80 percent will vote by 8pm. This is a very high indicator, showing the legitimacy of the electoral process and Belarusian citizens’ trust in the electoral system,” noted Piotr Petrovsky.
The expert said that he himself came to the polling station on the first day of early voting, “Despite it being a weekday, I was not alone at the polling station; other voters also came, and this makes me very happy.”
According to the political scientist, the main thing that Belarusians expect is the further development of a sovereign, independent, and peaceful state.
“The second point is the continuity of the political course. The Belarusian development model has become a brand, proving itself popular and being the basis for ordinary citizens’ well-being. This is the basics. This implies a fair society, jobs, a future for our own children. That’s why people go [to elections],” added Piotr Petrovsky.
The expert stressed that the legitimacy of elections is determined not by some foreign organisations, especially not by the leaders of other countries, but by the citizens themselves.
“People act as the source of power. Our form of government is a republic. People elect their representatives who make decisions in the state. Moreover, we have referendums where citizens directly make decisions. We don’t have either subjects, or serfs, or slaves. We do not have an absolute monarchy, we’re a republic. There’s nothing to add. Our task for international observers is to demonstrate the achievements in the electoral process. Meanwhile, the task of international observers is to conduct a competent analysis of these elections according to certain criteria, the main one of which should be compliance with the legislation and the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus,” the speaker emphasised.
After voting, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted: if the OSCE had asked to observe the elections, Belarus would have considered the application and the decision would most likely be given a positive response.
“We are not just open. We are ready to provide the mission of the European Union and the United States of America, or even the NATO mission, with the opportunity to observe our elections. But, this should be observation, rather than interference in the electoral process,” Piotr Petrovsky noted.
