Central Election Commission says OSCE has no electoral standards

Mikalai Lazavik, the secretary of the Belarus's Central Election Commission, reckons that there are no OSCE electoral standards in nature in respond to the final report of the OSCE Office for Democracy and Human Rights which monitored the 2008 parliamentary elections in Belarus. According to Lazavik, observers tamper with the electoral standards depending on the country where the elections take place. What considered democratic in Georgia and Ukraine is regarded as undemocratic in Belarus and Russia, he said.

At the same time, Lazavik declined a comment on the final conclusions of the OSCE until he obtains and analyzes the Russian translation of this document.

The OSCE's ODHR yesterday released the final report noting "certain improvments during the September 28 parliamentary elections in Belarus". However, the report said the polls fell short of the OSCE standards.

Interfax