BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

15/04/2006

Russian Lawmakers See PACE Resolution on Belarus Election Meaningless

Belarus may disregard resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) which requires a repeated election, Russian lawmakers said on Friday.

The PACE resolution adopted in Strasbourg on Thursday says that the presidential elections, held in Belarus in March, were at variance with democratic norms, and for that reason repeated elections should be held there "in conditions of democracy."

"Belarus may regard the PACE recommendations as nothing but declarations. There have always been declarations like that," Yuri Sharandin, head of the upper house of Parliament for constitutional legislation, was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

Sharandin said that "PACE has its own criteria for holding democratic elections, while every country has criteria of its own. This is especially true, because Belarus is not a PACE member."

Vasily Likhachev, deputy head of the committee for international affairs of the upper house of Parliament, described the PACE resolution as "an example of double, and extremely biased, standards."

"It is clear both from the legal and political points of view that the presidential elections in Belarus were held within the framework of law." One should take into account the fact that the overwhelming majority of electors voted for Alexander Lukashenko, Likhachev added.

Belarus was given the status of a specially invited guest of PACE in 1993. In 1996, however, after the referendum, which expanded the presidential powers at the expense of the powers of the parliament, Belarus application for joining PACE was "frozen."

The Belarussian delegation was stripped of its status of a specially invited guest at PACE sessions in 1997.

Source:

http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/706/2006/04/15/53@77733.htm

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