Observers slam Belarus election after opposition shut out parliament

Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe says poll did not meet international standards for democratic electionsBelarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures as he addresses the media after casting his vote during the parliamentary election in Minsk, Belarus, November 17 2019. Picture: REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

The vote “did not meet important international standards for democratic elections”, Margareta Cederfelt, who leads the short-term observer mission from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, told reporters on Monday in the capital, Minsk. The newly elected 110-seat lower house of parliament will be packed with loyalists to President Alexander Lukashenko, who has controlled the former Soviet republic of 9.5-million since 1994. The two sitting opposition deputies and many other opposition activists were barred from running. Among the newly elected members is Maria Vasilevich, the 2018 Belarusian representative to the Miss World competition.

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