Professional intelligence officer to head CIS observation mission

The mission of the Commonwealth of Independent States organizes a long-term and short-term monitoring of the presidential elections in Belarus.

BelaPAN news agency learnt this from the CIS Executive Committee.

The date when observers will start their work will be determined after a head of the mission is appointed and observers are accredited in the Central Election Committee. The CIS Executive Committee has already applied to the CIS for accreditation forms.

It is expected that a candidature of Sergey Lebedev, the CIS executive secretary, will be approved as the mission head on September 23, at a session of the Council of permanent authorized representatives of charter and other bodies of the CIS.

On September 20, the CIS Executive Committee sent letters of presidents of the CIS members states, the Parliamentary Assembly of Russian-Belarusian Union, and CIS Interparliamentrary Assembly asking to nominate delegates for the observation mission.

On September 21, the same statement was sent to foreign ministries and central election commissions of the CIS member states.

As udf.by earlier reported, according to head of the Central Commission on Elections and Referendums Lidziya Yarmoshyna, CIS election observers will start their activity in Belarus in the nearest days.

Chairman of the United Civil Party AnatolLyabedzka said today it would be good if the CIS mission and the OSCE mission join their efforts to monitor the presidential elections in Belarus. As the politician said: “It would be an ideal variant if the single observation system was under the aegis of OSCE. Moreover, the CIS member states are members of OSCE.”