OSCE CONDEMNS BELARUS'S BALLOT AS UNFAIR

"Unfortunately, Belarus's presidential elections did not meet international standards for free, democratic elections," AP quoted Kimmo Kiljunen, vice president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and coordinator of the OSCE's monitoring mission in Belarus, as saying on 10 September. "Maybe the election process was somewhat free but clearly it was not fair," Kiljunen added. The OSCE issued a statement condemning the election campaign. "There were fundamental flaws in the electoral process, some of which are specific to the political situation in Belarus," the statement said. The OSCE added that the Belarusian authorities did everything possible to block the opposition, including ruling by decree, failing to ensure the independence of the election administration, failing to properly control early voting, and creating a campaign environment that was seriously detrimental to the opposition. The statement noted that the authorities launched a campaign of intimidation against opposition activists, domestic observers, and independent media, and a smear campaign against international observers.