Presidential elections in Belarus : statement by the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe

Strasbourg, 17.03.2006 - The Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is deeply concerned that the Presidential elections to be held in Belarus on Sunday will take place in a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the country. Evidently the authorities in Belarus are failing to meet basic international standards for democratic elections, as the pre-election campaign is dominated by a climate of fear, involving intimidation and detention of candidates and their campaign representatives.

The Chairman of the Committee of Ministers notes and supports the committed work of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission to observe the presidential elections, but deeply regrets that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was not given this opportunity, for the sake of transparency of the ballot and the credibility of its results.

The Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe urges the Belarusian authorities to ensure the conduct of a free and fair electoral process on 19 March, in compliance with international election standards. The Chairman calls upon the authorities not to prevent the Belarusian people from exercising their fundamental rights of assembly and freedom of speech in this context. Election-related violence is unacceptable and all participants in political life in Belarus must act in a responsible way to secure a peaceful election process.

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