Lazavik: ODIHR OSCE Should Not Necessarily Be In Our Expert Group

Recommendations for holding “elections” should be discussed without ODIHR experts, though leadership of this organisation had spoken in favour of collaboration.

On February 12 Aliaksandr Lukashenka ordered to set up in the shortest time possible an interdepartmental group on studying the OSCE recommendations and formulating proposals for applying these recommendations.

“There is a necessity to discuss briefly the results of the presidential elections as viewed by the ODIHR OCSE,” – Lukashenka said.

The first session of the interdepartmental group on studying the ODIHR OSCE recommendations is to be held on February 16. The commission has 10 members. They are deputies of the parliament, representatives of different ministries and agencies. As said by Mikalai Lazavik, Secretary of the Central Elections Commission, the group had been formed in a directive way.

“Lidziya Yarmoshyna, who had received such an order from the president, immediately gave a task to officials of the CEC to contact heads of a number of ministries and organisations. And she asked to send representatives of those ministries and state bodies – the parliament, the National Lawmaking and Legal Studies Centre – to that group – Mikalai Lazavik said.

Thus, there are no independent experts or representatives of public organisations in this expert group. There are no ODIHR OSCE experts there as well, though the leadership of this organisation spoke in favour of cooperation. As said by Lazavik, they have agreement with the ODIHR OSCE about a meeting at the level of experts.

“When Mr Michael Link presented the final report to the CEC, he put forth such a proposal: It would be good for experts to meet somewhere – in Warsaw, or probably in Minsk. We supported that proposal and believe that the preliminary work of that group, could be discussed with the ODIHR OSCE experts as well. It is not obligatory for them to be members of that group,” – the CEC Secretary said.