Belarus CEC chief slams US election criticism; voter turnout at 72.98%

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Feb 2024 00:05

Igor Karpenko fires back at the United States, urging the country to concentrate on its domestic problems instead.

In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, the Belarus President presents flowers to an election commission official ahead of voting at a polling station in Minsk, on Sunday, February 25, 2024. (AP)

Belarusian Central Election Commission Chairman Igor Karpenko criticized the United States, calling on the country to focus on addressing its own internal issues instead of assuming the role of a global watchdog.

This response came on Sunday following Washington's condemnation of Belarus' parliamentary and local elections. Earlier in the day, Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the US State Department, labeled the elections in Belarus as a "sham" and claimed they were taking place in "a climate of fear."

"I don't know how they assessed everything from across the ocean, it's very strange ... Probably, the United States has had enough of trying on the role of the world watchdog, they should deal with their domestic problems," Karpenko said during a press conference.

He further claimed that there are numerous uncertainties surrounding elections in the United States, including the most recent presidential election.

Strong voter turnout at 72.98%: CEC reports

The CEC chief also announced on Sunday that the overall voter turnout in the parliamentary and local elections on a single voting day reached 72.98% at the time of polling stations closing.

"All polling stations have closed and the counting of votes has begun ... According to the turnout as of 8 p.m. [17:00 GMT], the turnout in the republic amounted to 72.98%," Karpenko said during a briefing.

On Sunday, Belarusians participated in the elections to choose 12,514 members for local councils and 110 representatives for the parliament's lower house, with the elected officials serving a five-year term. A total of 263 candidates vied for seats in the lower house, while 18,800 candidates contested seats in local councils. All four registered parties in Belarus nominated their candidates for the elections.

According to Artem Turov, a member of the Russian lower house delegation overseeing the elections, Minsk conducted the electoral process in strict compliance with national laws, with no observed violations that could potentially impact the results.

It is worth noting that the participation rate for the parliamentary elections in Belarus was 77.4% in 2019, slightly higher than the 74.7% recorded in 2016. In the 2020 presidential election, the voter turnout stood at 84.3%.