Technical Conference on Belarus adopts recommendations on parliamentary election process

VIENNA, 31 August 2000 - Ambassador Hans-Georg Wieck, Chairman of the Technical Conference on Belarus, reported today to the OSCE Permanent Council on the 30 August conference, which reviewed conditions for democratic parliamentary elections in Belarus.

The Conference, which brought together high-ranking representatives of institutions and parliamentary assemblies (OSCE, EC, CoE, CIS and the U.S. NGONGO
non-governmental organization IFES), adopted recommendations for the role of these institutions in the upcoming 15 October parliamentary elections in Belarus. The Conference also heard an address by the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Martinov and the Speaker of the Advisory Council of Opposition Parties Lebedko. The recommendations were made in response to conclusions that some progress has been made relating to the organization of democratic elections, but that this still falls short of internationally agreed criteria. The recommendations of the Conference comprised the following:

• The OSCE 's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which handles elections issues for the OSCE, should send a technical assessment mission;

• The Parliamentary Troika (the parliamentary assemblies of the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament) should continue their consultative and monitoring functions during the parliamentary elections. They should also act as observers in their institutional capacity to the extent which enables them to make an objective assessment of the election process in coordination with the OSCE and with domestic observers.

For further information contact the Press and Public Information Section of the OSCE Secretariat, tel.: (+ 43-1) 514 36 180 or e-mail: info@osce.org