Meeting with heads of CIS election bodies

Election campaigns have long ceased to be a technical procedure, recently turning into a true battlefield, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with the heads of the CIS election bodies on 19 September.

“Given my rich experience of leading the country, I remember the times when the bodies you head were set up. I will say frankly: this is a good, positive product of democracy and democratization of our society of the times. We long debated the necessity of election commissions. We studied the experience of other countries, where, for example, the Internal Affairs Ministry can control, organize and make a relevant conclusion on elections. Following the democratic way, however, we set up our election commissions, the vertical from the central one to the corresponding districts, constituencies and so on. I must say that this is one of those cases when we have not made a mistake,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The CIS countries, however, could not have imagined at that time that the activities of electoral bodies and their area of responsibility would become a battlefield, the President said. “You often have to fight. Thank God, you are not doing it alone,” the head of state added.

The CIS Advisory Council of Heads of Electoral Bodies has been established quite recently, Aleksandr Lukashenko said. According to him, this shows how much importance the CIS countries attach to the organization of elections and referendums, improvement of electoral legislation.

“Election campaigns have long ceased to be a technical procedure. This has already become a true battlefield in the pre-election and election periods, where the main actor is the bodies of the Central Election Commission,” the President said.

In his words, today elections have become one of the main political events in the life of any country. At the same time, Aleksandr Lukashenko believes that it should be an ordinary political process, which should not be given too much importance.

“High-quality preparation of elections, transparency and honesty guarantee the maintenance of political stability, preservation of peace and order in society. During this period every your word is taken very seriously, and our peoples are used to believing in what the heads of the Central Election Commissions and his subordinate structures say,” the head of state added.

Aleksandr Lukashenko added that the opponents of the authorities always try to use the election period in their own interests, often even with the help of revolutionary and rebellious methods.

“All of us have faced such tests, including Belarus in 2020. We have always sincerely and honestly recognized that it happens not only because of external pressure. There are internal reasons. We know these reasons. We have clearly identified them and made appropriate conclusions. We have learned lessons from those events so that they would not happen again,” the President said.

Large-scale changes in legislation came as part of the undertaken measures. The “electoral sovereignty” term was enshrined in the National Security Concept of Belarus. It means the protection of national interests, the inalienable right of the state to hold elections and referendums regardless of pressure from the outside.

“We are ready to discuss with our friends, partners, first of all with the CIS countries, the developments of our legislation, security of the electoral process. It is important that we have such an international platform as our council, which has become a place of effective interaction ahead of election campaigns, and in life in general as your practice shows. I have repeatedly said that we need to act together, work out common principles of our central commissions, develop laws, by-laws and joint practice,” the Belarusian leader added.

“We need to study global practices. Yet it is unlikely that they will come in handy, as we have probably studied everything already and made the necessary decisions at home. It is important to develop our own standards, and the key thing here is not whether or not we follow some principles and concepts imposed by the OSCE or some other organizations, but whether our own laws and by-laws comply with the Constitution and whether the elections will comply with the legislation effective in our countries. This is the main thing,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.

The head of state recalled that a Presidential election campaign will soon kick off in Belarus, and the country sticks to the principles he voiced. “The Belarusian people must take it upon themselves, without any pressure, to decide who will run the country,” the President said.

"As for the CIS, we are always happy to see you at our elections. This is very important for us. Your friendly advice, remarks or even criticism are taken seriously," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to him, after the Presidential election is scheduled in Belarus, a corresponding invitation will be sent to the CIS observer mission.

"Today we are thinking about what to do with the so-called foreign observers, because we know that they come with a pre-prepared document that they will then announce and sign," the President said.

The head of state said that this information became known thanks to the work of the special services. They found out that the last time Western observers came with a predetermined narrative, which they announced later on. "This shows that they are not interested in this process. They already determined in advance what they would do in our country and prepared the outcome statement," he added.

"We think we will consult with you, among other things, on how to act in this situation. Of course, we would like them to come and  see that they were wrong. But we cannot tolerate the situation when they come with their door-stopper rulebooks and make a corresponding statement, which has been prepared in advance or which has been written by someone else," the head of state stressed.

It is also important to guarantee the proper level of security during the election process and make sure people will trust the election outcomes. “We pay special attention to the youth, in particular, the political literacy of young people. We need to explain, tell people how we will live after the election. This is no secret that young people are the main street weapon of color revolutions, so we pay special attention to the youth. We need to find common ground with young voters, and if you have such experience, you will share it with us during your visit to Belarus,” added Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The President is confident that the interaction between the central election bodies of the CIS countries will allow successfully addressing the most pressing tasks and problems. “I would very much like you to continue to maintain this meaningful cooperation between the central election commissions. This, as we say, is worth a lot. We must not lose it under any circumstances,” the Belarusian leader concluded.