The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus invited the OSCE to observe the elections*. The ODIHR answered why it was late
The elections* in Belarus are held in a climate of fear, oppression, and widespread prosecution. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus reported that 456 foreign observers from 49 countries would observe the elections on January 26. As noted on the ministry's Facebook page, these observers have received accreditation from the Central Election Commission of Belarus.
"The invitation was also sent to the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)," the message says.
Among other foreign organizations, the Executive Committee and the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS, the CSTO, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Secretariat of the Council for Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, and the Youth Organization of the Non-Aligned Movement were invited to observe the elections. As follows from the information of the Central Election Commission of Belarus, the majority of accredited international observers (240) were from the CIS countries and bodies.
On January 17, the OSCE/ODIHR responded to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus on the invitation to the elections. The organization stated that the Belarusian authorities had sent an invitation to observe the elections on January 26 with a delay.
"Belarus announced the date of the presidential election several months ago, and the authorities are well aware that the ODIHR needs to be invited in a timely manner to monitor all key aspects of the election, including preparations for election day," Katsia Andrush, Press Secretary of the Bureau of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights reported to Radio Svaboda.
Thus, according to her, the situation remains as defined in the joint statement of the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on January 9. In it, the organizations expressed "deep regret" over the decision of the Belarusian authorities not to invite OSCE participating states to observe the presidential elections in the country on January 26. This, as noted in the statement, "hinders an impartial and independent assessment of the electoral process."
"Although the ODIHR cannot observe these elections due to the lack of a timely invitation, we continue to closely monitor events in Belarus from all perspectives covered by our mandate," Katsia Andrush emphasized.