Opinion: West discredited institution of international election observation with its policy of pressure
According to the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Belarus, Igor Karpenko, 70+ international observers have already been accredited for the Presidential election in Belarus. In his talk with Alfa Radio, a deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, Director General of the National Library of Belarus Vadim Gigin, explained whether representatives of the OSCE and other European organisations should be invited to Belarus’ elections.
Pressure through elections
Experts share different views on whether international observers should be present at the Presidential election in Belarus. What is actually electoral sovereignty? Are international observers needed to ensure it? Americans think not. Western Europeans are sure they do not need such people, but Belarus does. An opinion was voiced at conferences that such a blatant invitation of foreign observers and the recognition of elections only from the outside are an electoral protectorate. It works when, depending on the recognition or non-recognition of elections by Western political bodies, the latter actually influence the situation in the country. Look at the recent situation in Romania or Georgia. In Romania, the international pressure through the intelligence services (which are under the full control of the United States) was about to result in a coup. When the candidate – not supported by the West – was through to the second round, the elections were cancelled. In turn, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister said they cannot impose sanctions against Georgia if they see the election results as unsatisfactory, but the situation has turned out to be opposite.
People as source of power
There has not been a question of whether Western observers can come for a long time. Well, come and take a look. In fact, through its policy of pressure, the West has largely discredited the institution of international election observation, as well as other democratic procedures. It has undermined the trust in them, but this subversive activity of the collective West should not prevent us from interacting with other states. Why are observers coming to Belarus? We no longer need them to confirm the correctness or wrongness of the people's choice. This is the issue which we decide on. The Belarusian Constitution does not stipulate that the election result depends on the recognition by international observers. The people vote in our country, and the people are the source of power. This is what electoral sovereignty looks like.
Why Belarus needs international election observers
Firstly, we demonstrate the openness of our procedure, we have nothing to fear here. Secondly, it is an exchange of experience. They learn something from us, and we are interested in their experience. At present, elections involve the technologies, including organisational ones: i.e. how a polling station or a booth should look, how much money is needed and how to save some funds, where optimisation is possible, and so on. The exchange of experience is a normal process. In addition, it creates an opportunity for a political dialogue: many foreign deputies will come, we will communicate. Much hard work will be done, so it is right that we invite international observers. We have nothing to be afraid of. Meanwhile, an issue dealing with Western observers is coming to the fore. Why should we co-operate with these structures if we know that they aim at subversive activities, that their assessments of our internal political process are not credible, that their conclusions are pre-prepared. We are no longer playing these games, we have learnt a lesson. As our President said, we have matured politically. Therefore, Belarus is absolutely calmly working in its own interests, taking into account the interests of the states and political structures that are friendly towards it.
