LA BIELORUSSIA CONTESTA LA REGOLARITA' DELLE ELEZIONI USA
MosNews (Russia) - November 4, 2004
Belarus Doubts Legitimacy of U.S. Presidential Election
The Belarus Foreign Ministry has expressed doubts
about the transparency of the presidential elections
in the U.S., Russian news agency Interfax reported on
Thursday.
According to reports from independent observers and
media representatives, a number of violations were
noticed in the course of preparations and during the
elections, namely basic international obligations set
by the 1990 Copenhagen Document of the OSCE, the press
secretary of the Belarus Foreign Ministry said in a
statement circulated on Thursday.
In particular, the official noted that U.S. officials
had not applied sufficient effort to get rid of the
major shortcomings in the U.S. electoral system.
“This is why we are not surprised by reports that a
large number of absentee ballots send by post have
been lost, that the computer systems crash, that the
voters are being threatened, that some voters cannot
find themselves on voting lists, that it is impossible
to get information on regional elections commissions
and places where the voting was held,” the release
reads.
Belarus observers and a number of observers
representing NGOs have reported that the U.S.
authorities had not ensured the free work of
international observers and accreditation of such
observers in some states turned out to be virtually
impossible.
The release also notes that in the states where the
international observers had managed to get the
accreditation, the local authorities restricted their
rights by “unprecedented harsh demands”.
The Belarus Foreign Ministry expressed its hope that
the mission of international observers of the OSCE
would cover the U.S. presidential elections
“objectively and truthfully” and give its evaluation
of the event.
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2004/11/04/belaruscritic.shtml
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - November 5, 2004
BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT CALLS U.S. ELECTION UNFAIR
Alyaksandr Lukashenka [Alexander Lukashenko] said on 4
November that this week's presidential election in the
United States was held under standards that are
unacceptable for Belarus, Belarusian media reported.
"The presidential elections, according to their [U.S.]
standards, are inadmissible for us," Belapan quoted
Lukashenka as saying.
"If we had staged an election like they did in the
United States, we would have been crushed a long time
ago."
The same day the Belarusian Foreign Ministry issued a
statement saying that the United States did not meet
many international commitments regarding elections.
"Therefore we are not surprised by many reports on the
disappearance of a large number of ballots sent by
mail, the malfunctions of the electronic voting
system, intimidation of voters, the absence of voters
on voter registers, the impossibility to freely obtain
information from precinct and district commissions
about the procedure and places of voting," the
statement says.
Minsk also charges that the U.S. authorities failed to
ensure unhindered work by international election
observers. "[These facts] cast doubt on the
transparency and democracy of the U.S. elections," the
statement concludes. JM
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/3-cee.asp
( source: Rick Rozoff - ANTINATO @... )
MosNews (Russia) - November 4, 2004
Belarus Doubts Legitimacy of U.S. Presidential Election
The Belarus Foreign Ministry has expressed doubts
about the transparency of the presidential elections
in the U.S., Russian news agency Interfax reported on
Thursday.
According to reports from independent observers and
media representatives, a number of violations were
noticed in the course of preparations and during the
elections, namely basic international obligations set
by the 1990 Copenhagen Document of the OSCE, the press
secretary of the Belarus Foreign Ministry said in a
statement circulated on Thursday.
In particular, the official noted that U.S. officials
had not applied sufficient effort to get rid of the
major shortcomings in the U.S. electoral system.
“This is why we are not surprised by reports that a
large number of absentee ballots send by post have
been lost, that the computer systems crash, that the
voters are being threatened, that some voters cannot
find themselves on voting lists, that it is impossible
to get information on regional elections commissions
and places where the voting was held,” the release
reads.
Belarus observers and a number of observers
representing NGOs have reported that the U.S.
authorities had not ensured the free work of
international observers and accreditation of such
observers in some states turned out to be virtually
impossible.
The release also notes that in the states where the
international observers had managed to get the
accreditation, the local authorities restricted their
rights by “unprecedented harsh demands”.
The Belarus Foreign Ministry expressed its hope that
the mission of international observers of the OSCE
would cover the U.S. presidential elections
“objectively and truthfully” and give its evaluation
of the event.
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2004/11/04/belaruscritic.shtml
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - November 5, 2004
BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT CALLS U.S. ELECTION UNFAIR
Alyaksandr Lukashenka [Alexander Lukashenko] said on 4
November that this week's presidential election in the
United States was held under standards that are
unacceptable for Belarus, Belarusian media reported.
"The presidential elections, according to their [U.S.]
standards, are inadmissible for us," Belapan quoted
Lukashenka as saying.
"If we had staged an election like they did in the
United States, we would have been crushed a long time
ago."
The same day the Belarusian Foreign Ministry issued a
statement saying that the United States did not meet
many international commitments regarding elections.
"Therefore we are not surprised by many reports on the
disappearance of a large number of ballots sent by
mail, the malfunctions of the electronic voting
system, intimidation of voters, the absence of voters
on voter registers, the impossibility to freely obtain
information from precinct and district commissions
about the procedure and places of voting," the
statement says.
Minsk also charges that the U.S. authorities failed to
ensure unhindered work by international election
observers. "[These facts] cast doubt on the
transparency and democracy of the U.S. elections," the
statement concludes. JM
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/3-cee.asp
( source: Rick Rozoff - ANTINATO @... )