Foreign and Commonwealth Office – 2019 Press Release on Parliamentary Elections in Belarus

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 20/11/2019.

The FCO gave a statement following a Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Council of Europe report into the conduct of the Belarus elections.

A Foreign & Commonwealth Office spokesperson said:

“The UK is disappointed that Belarus’ parliamentary elections did not meet international democratic standards, according to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Council of Europe.

We are also concerned by the reports from the OSCE that the election environment was overly restrictive, did not provide for any meaningful competition, and that fundamental democratic rights were curbed.

We urge the government of Belarus to work to address these issues to strengthen Belarus’ democracy and to allow voters and candidates full involvement in the democratic process.”