Belarus parliament elections meet legal norms, Russian MP says

MINSK, 24 September (BelTA) – The parliamentary elections in Belarus were honest, transparent and met all the legal norms. The opinion was voiced by CIS mission observer Oleg Lebedev, a member of the Natural Resources, Environmental Management, and Ecology Committee of the Russian State Duma, BelTA has learned.

According to Oleg Lebedev, members of the Russian parliament delegation are experienced people, who have worked in various commissions during election campaigns many times. “We know requirements and approaches not only of the CIS states but also European ones. It is the opinion of our entire delegation that the parliamentary elections in Belarus were honest, transparent and met all the legal norms,” he said.

While in Belarus observers sent by the Russian State Duma visited various polling stations in Minsk, Brest, and Minsk Oblast. “It was remarkable that all the polling stations without an exception had an air of celebration about them. The feeling of celebration, kindness, sympathy and solidarity of people,” stressed the CIS observer. He said that the delegation had no remarks about the elections. “We’ve met with representatives of the OSCE and ODIHR. None of the present foreign observers from the Council of Europe made any remarks [about the elections] while talking personally to us,” said Oleg Lebedev.