Arr, Belarus be sayin' nay to ye offer o' watchin' their election shenanigans. Walk the plank, matey!
2024-01-08
Avast ye! Belarus be sayin' on Monday that it won't be invitin' the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to keep a watchful eye on its Feb. 25 elections. Scallywags be up to somethin' fishy, methinks!
Belarusian authorities have announced that they will not invite observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor the upcoming parliamentary and local elections on February 25. This decision is the latest move by President Alexander Lukashenko to solidify his control over the country's political institutions. Belarus, as a member of the OSCE, has traditionally allowed only members of its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to observe its elections. However, Lukashenko's government has responded to the mass protests that followed the controversial 2020 presidential election with a brutal crackdown, arresting thousands of people and forcing many to flee the country. The upcoming elections are expected to take place under tight control by the authorities, with opposition politicians unlikely to be allowed on the ballot. Instead, observers from Russia and Central Asian nations will be invited to monitor the vote. Since 1995, the OSCE has consistently deemed elections in Belarus as not conforming to its standards, while Russia and its allies have viewed them as democratic. Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, currently in exile in Lithuania, has called for a boycott of the elections, labeling them a "farce without international monitoring." Following the elections, a new state body called the All-Belarusian People's Assembly will be formed, granting Lukashenko broad powers and allowing him to maintain influence even after stepping down as president.