January 31, Pozirk. Katherine Brucker, charge d’affaires at the US mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), has expressed concerns to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna in connection with Belarus’ January 21-26 presidential election.
The poll was held “in a repressive environment characterized by state censorship, a continuing crackdown on free and independent media and on civil society organizations, and the exclusion of democratic opposition figures from the political process,” she said in a statement delivered on January 30.
She described the election as “a deeply flawed process” in which Alaksandar Łukašenka faced no real competition.
She also noted that Belarus failed to issue a timely invitation to the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to observe the election, thus further depriving its election of credibility and transparency.
“We remind Belarus of the importance of the OSCE principles and commitments that it, like all participating States, has pledged to uphold, including respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all,” she said.
