BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

29/09/2008

Kaczynski doesn't trust Belarusian democracy

Polish President Lech Kaczynski stated that he doesn't believe that yesterday's parliamentary elections in Belarusian were free and democratic.

He told Radio Bialystok on Monday morning that they are surely a step in the right direction for Belarus, but "elections are democratic when those who are in power have no medium to control the elections. If there is a measure of control, that always signals danger, and that means that there is no democracy."

In the opinion of the president, Belarus must have a "normal process" of changing the ruling elite. "In other words, President [Alexander] Lukashenko must be a man who realizes that losing power is unfortunate but normal. There are no signs now that Lukashenko thinks that his losing power is a normal process," added Kaczynski.

Lukashenko's ruling party claimed 110 seats in Sunday's elections in Belarus. The opposition party is contending two-thirds of the parliamentary seats, more than they have ever sought before, yet won none of them. Voter turnout, according to the state electoral commission, was 75.3 percent.

Poland dispatched thirty observers as part of an EU coalition dispatched by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the election process. Their assessment is expected later today.

Source:

http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/foreign-affairs/?id=92441

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