Polish authorities blocked entry to Poland for OSCE PA observer from Belarus under far-fetched pretext
Despite the difficult situation observed in relations between Belarus and Poland, the status of an OSCE participating state and the fact of sending an invitation to the elections obliges Warsaw to comply with existing legal norms and ensure access to the elections for international observers. Belarus has extended a hand of friendship, but its neighbours have, unfortunately, once again refused to use this opportunity. There has been another confirmation that Poland is fenced off by a wall not only from migrants – as stated by Denis Karas, a member of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus on Industry, Fuel and Energy Complex, Transport and Communications. In the status of an OSCE Parliamentary Assembly observer, he headed to Poland today to observe the parliamentary elections scheduled to be held there on October 15th, but was refused entry to Polish territory.
In a statement for the media, the MP explained, “The Republic of Poland has officially invited the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, its member states and structures, including the Parliamentary Assembly, to participate in international monitoring of its upcoming parliamentary elections. The Republic of Belarus has responded to that proposal. Following a decision of the House of Representatives, my candidacy as a member of the national delegation of Belarus to the OSCE PA was submitted to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in accordance with the established procedure and the necessary requirements. The OSCE PA has formed its observation mission for the upcoming elections, and I was officially included into it. My data was promptly sent to the Central Election Commission of Poland for accreditation as an international observer through the OSCE PA. It was expected that the Belarusian parliamentarian would work as an observer in Warsaw.”
No doubt, any country has the right to close entry to its territory to foreign citizens. As noted by Mr. Karas, Belarus does not dispute this right. “However, until the moment of crossing the border on October 12th, neither from the Polish side nor from the international secretariat of the OSCE PA did we receive any signals that my candidacy as an observer was unacceptable to the Polish authorities. It was from this that the Parliament of Belarus proceeded when sending me on a business trip. Despite the difficult situation in relations between Belarus and Poland, the status of an OSCE participating state and the fact of sending an invitation to the elections obliges Warsaw to comply with the existing legal norms and ensure access to the elections for international observers,” he stressed.
Mr. Karas emphasised, “Multilateral and bilateral sanctions imposed by Western countries and our neighbours, including Poland, under politicised pretexts are categorically unacceptable for Belarus. However, exceptions are actually possible from any sanctions. In this regard, I would like to stress that Belarus is going with peace, it is not interested in escalating relations with its neighbours. Our Head of State has repeatedly said this. Neighbours are God-given, they are not chosen, and we are interested in finding ways to normalise relations. Belarus has extended a hand of friendship, but its neighbours have, unfortunately, once again refused to use this opportunity. We have once again seen that Poland is fenced off by a wall not only from migrants.”
An iron curtain is being erected in general from Belarusians, including Belarusian parliamentarians, and Mr. Karas explained, “Actually, the dialogue on a parliamentary level could become a real step on the way to restoring largely lost mutual trust. In this regard, we are extremely disappointed by the decision of the Polish authorities to block entry to Poland for an OSCE PA observer from Belarus under a far-fetched pretext. We view this decision as another unfriendly step, outright arbitrariness and discrimination against international observers.”
The MP clarified, “The motives that the Polish authorities are guided by in making this openly unfriendly decision are incomprehensible to us. It undermines the credibility of the electoral process in Poland, raises doubts about the integrity and transparency of the elections. We would not like to think that the ruling class in Poland, which claims leadership in promoting democracy in the region, has something to hide from the impartial gaze of international observers.”
According to Mr. Karas, such actions undermine any confidence in the idea of inclusive election monitoring under the auspices of the OSCE, “Such observation is worthless when representatives of neighbouring countries, with the tacit indulgence of the leadership of the Parliamentary Assembly, are excluded from this process.”
By the way, the results of a survey conducted on October 6th-7th, 2023 by the Institute for Market and Social Research among about a thousand of Poles stated that there is a high percentage of distrust of the results of the parliamentary elections in Poland. More than 40 percent of respondents are afraid of falsification of the results of the electoral campaign. The opposite opinion is shared by 54.5 percent of respondents.
Concern about the honesty of the vote counting process in the 2023 parliamentary elections is shared primarily by opposition supporters: up to 69 percent. Among those who declare support for the ruling camp, this percentage is much lower and amounts to 9 percent. Half of the representatives of the female electorate (50 percent) share concerns about the integrity of the elections; in turn, the share of male voters who doubt the objective results of the elections is 34 percent.
Concern about the ongoing electoral campaign in Poland is strengthened by the conclusions of the OSCE monitoring mission, which published a report on the ongoing campaign in Poland on September 29th. The document, in particular, indicates the use of administrative resources, budget funds and public media by the ruling party in the election race.
