October 25, Pozirk. The Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections, a coalition of Belarusian nonprofits, have announced a remote mission to monitor Belarus’ January presidential election, inviting Belarusians to report irregularities.
Fair and free election is impossible amid state terror targeting regime critics and Belarusian authorities’ instrumentalization of the electoral process for own ends, the coalition commented on the presidential election scheduled for January 21-26.
The election date set up six months before the deadline provided by the law violates the principles of legal certainty principles and equal opportunities for candidates, the activists noted in a statement published by the Viasna Human Rights Center.
The Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections campaign will work remotely, it announced, citing security threats for independent observers and ongoing crackdown on civil society.
Established in 2008, the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections includes Viasna and Belarusian Helsinki Committee election monitors.
Belarus has not held a single free and fair election since 1996 by the standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The central election commission expects more than 440 international observers at the presidential election.
Minsk seeks flattering assessments from the Russian-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States and election officials from government-friendly countries.
The government stopped inviting OSCE monitors after the 2020 disputed presidential election.
