The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has rejected the candidate observers proposed by the CIC Executive Committee to work in the upcoming parliamentary elections and referendum in Belarus. "The OSCE ODIHR asked the CIS Executive Committee to send its representatives as OSCE observers to the parliamentary elections in Belarus. We offered them two candidates, representatives of Russia and Armenia, top officials of the Executive Committee's department," Tatyana Yegorova, spokesman for the CIS Executive Committee, told a news conference on Friday. However, the OSCE ODIHR headquarters in Warsaw responded that "our proposal was not accepted because the proposed candidates are accredited in Belarus and are allegedly dependent on the Belarussian government," she said. "We were surprised and saddened by this decision. We have always been ready for contact and sought contacts. We are hoping that they [contacts] will continue," Yegorova said.