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Belarus Refuses U.S. Request to Monitor Local Elections

(Vienna, March 6: Davidson statement to OSCE Permanent Council) (320)
The United States has asked Belarus' Central Election Commission to
explain why it denied a request for accreditation of U.S. Embassy
diplomatic staff in Minsk to serve as observers for the March 2 local
elections.
In a statement to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna March 6, U.S.
diplomat Douglas Davidson noted that the Central Election Commission's
decision contradicts a note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which
stated that Belarus' electoral process provides for "the participation
of national and international election observers."
Following is a transcript of Davidson's remarks:
(begin transcript)
United States Mission to the OSCE
Vienna 
March 6, 20203
STATEMENT ON BELARUS
AS DELIVERED BY DEPUTY HEAD OF MISSION DOUGLAS DAVIDSON TO THE
PERMANENT COUNCIL
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
On February 23, the Embassy of the United States of America in Minsk
sent a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus as well as
the Central Election Commission requesting accreditation of U.S.
Embassy diplomatic staff as election observers. On February 25, the
Central Election Commission denied this request, asserting that it did
not intend to extend invitations to international observers for the
local elections held on March 2.
This response by the Central Election Commission contradicts a note
from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was circulated earlier the
same day to all diplomatic missions and accredited organizations in
Belarus. That document clearly stated that Belarus' electoral process
provides for "the participation of national and international election
observers."
Given the fact that Belarus' own legislation and its OSCE commitments
provide for international election observation, we would welcome an
explanation from Belarus of its refusal to accredit international
election observers.
We would also like to reserve the right to return to this matter in
the future in order to express our views on the electoral process
itself.
Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)