OSCE/ODIHR observers invited to Belarusian presidential election
MINSK. Jan 17 (Interfax) - More than 450 international observers, among them representatives of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), have been invited to monitor the Belarusian presidential election, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
"The Central Elections Commission has accredited 456 international observers from 49 states. Among international organizations, our invitations have been sent to the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, and the youth organization of the Non-Aligned Movement," the ministry press service said.
"An invitation has also been sent to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)," the press service.
The Belarusian presidential election is scheduled for January 26, 2025, and the early voting will take place on January 21-25.
Five candidates have been registered to stand in the presidential election. These are incumbent Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, parliament member, Liberal Democratic Party Chairman Oleg Gaidukevich, Republican Party of Labor and Justice Chairman Alexander Khizhnyak, former parliament member, 2020 presidential candidate Anna Kanopatskaya, and Belarusian Communist Party Central Committee First Secretary Sergei Syrankov.
Lukashenko, who has been in office since 1994, is running for the seventh presidential term.