09.01.2014
Yermoshina: Members of election commissions should know electoral laws well
MOGILEV (BelTA) – Members of election commissions should be clued-up about electoral laws, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina has said at a regional session to discuss the forthcoming elections to the local councils of deputies. The session took place in Mogilev on 9 January, BelTA has learnt.
The monitoring of the last elections to the local councils of deputies revealed that many members of election commissions, including chairmen of election commissions, did not know the basics of the Electoral Code and worked to antiquated rules inherited from the Soviet Union. The inability to explain the domestic electoral laws to international observers and failure to convince them in the legitimacy of actions of election commissions resulted in the negative assessment of Belarus’ elections by a number of foreign states. “Therefore, I urge members of election commissions to carefully study the guidelines prepared by the Central Election Commission. These guidelines provide answers to virtually all questions regarding the preparation and conduct of the elections. We should avoid the mistakes we made last time. We should be well-organized. The success of the presidential election campaign of 2015 will in many ways depend on the local elections,” Lidia Yermoshina underlined.
In her words, it is important that the forthcoming elections will mark the refreshment of election commissions. Many young people were approved to work in the commissions. “Of course, it would be easier to rely on old experienced people, but we need to groom successors. Young people will get valuable experience and knowledge, which will help them avoid mistakes while preparing and conducting elections in the future,” Lidia Yermoshina said.
She noted that one of the keynotes of the forthcoming election campaign will be openness and transparency. “We should be guided solely by the effective legislation, we should be as open as possible and inform the public in time and in full about new developments,” the CEC Chairperson said.
The monitoring of the last elections to the local councils of deputies revealed that many members of election commissions, including chairmen of election commissions, did not know the basics of the Electoral Code and worked to antiquated rules inherited from the Soviet Union. The inability to explain the domestic electoral laws to international observers and failure to convince them in the legitimacy of actions of election commissions resulted in the negative assessment of Belarus’ elections by a number of foreign states. “Therefore, I urge members of election commissions to carefully study the guidelines prepared by the Central Election Commission. These guidelines provide answers to virtually all questions regarding the preparation and conduct of the elections. We should avoid the mistakes we made last time. We should be well-organized. The success of the presidential election campaign of 2015 will in many ways depend on the local elections,” Lidia Yermoshina underlined.
In her words, it is important that the forthcoming elections will mark the refreshment of election commissions. Many young people were approved to work in the commissions. “Of course, it would be easier to rely on old experienced people, but we need to groom successors. Young people will get valuable experience and knowledge, which will help them avoid mistakes while preparing and conducting elections in the future,” Lidia Yermoshina said.
She noted that one of the keynotes of the forthcoming election campaign will be openness and transparency. “We should be guided solely by the effective legislation, we should be as open as possible and inform the public in time and in full about new developments,” the CEC Chairperson said.