Election campaigns have long become a battlefield. This was announced today, September 19, by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with the heads of electoral authorities of the CIS countries.
“Knowing you, taking into account my rich experience in leading the country, I remember the times when the bodies you headed were just being created. I will be honest: this is a good, positive product of democracy and the democratization of our society in those days. We have long argued: do we need election commissions, do we not need them, we studied the experience of other countries, where, for example, the Ministry of Internal Affairs can control, organize and draw appropriate conclusions about elections. But, following the democratic path, we created our election commissions, vertical in nature, from the central district to the corresponding districts, districts, etc. And I must say that this is one of those cases where we were not mistaken… However, in the CIS countries they could not even imagine that the activities of the election bodies and their area of responsibility would become a field for military action, the President said. “You often fight, thank God, not just everywhere, but still you have enough,” – said.
Lukashenko noted that the Advisory Council of the heads of electoral bodies of the CIS member states had recently been established. According to him, this indicates the great importance that the Commonwealth countries attach to the organization of elections and referendums and the improvement of electoral legislation.
“Election campaigns have long ceased to be a technical procedure. They are, frankly speaking, a battlefield in the pre-election and election periods, where the main protagonists are the organs of the Central Election Commission and the electoral commission in general.” — the Belarusian leader stressed.
He also noted that today elections have become one of the main political events in the life of any country. At the same time, Lukashenko believes that this should be an ordinary political process that should not be given too much importance.
“Qualitative preparation of elections, transparency and honesty guarantee the maintenance of political stability, preservation of peace and order in society. During this period, every word that comes out of our mouth is taken very seriously and our people are accustomed to believing what the Chairman of the Central Election Commission and the structures subordinate to him say.” – he pointed out.
In addition, Alexander Lukashenko said that opponents of the government always try to use the election period for their own benefit, often even using revolutionary and rebellious methods.
“We were all subjected to such tests, including Belarus, in 2020. But we have always sincerely and honestly admitted that it does not happen that we are under pressure from the outside and either we start to falter or someone starts to prowl around our streets. This means that there are some internal reasons. We know these reasons, we clearly defined them and drew appropriate conclusions, we learned lessons from those events so that this does not happen again.” – the Belarusian leader said.
Among the measures taken are large-scale legislative changes. Thus, the concept of “electoral sovereignty” was enshrined in the National Security Concept of Belarus. We are talking about the protection of national interests, the inalienable right of the state to hold elections and referendums without taking into account cries and pressure from outside.
“We, with our friends and partners, primarily the CIS countries, are ready to discuss the development of our legislation and ensure the security of the electoral process. It is very important that there is such an international platform as our council, which has become a place of effective interaction on the eve of election campaigns and, as its practice shows, in life in general, without being tied to any campaign. I have said more than once that we must act together, develop common principles for the activities of our central commissions, develop laws, statutes and develop practices so that we do not have major differences.” – Lukashenko summed up.
Recall that the next presidential elections in Belarus are scheduled for 2025. Alexander Lukashenko has not yet officially announced his participation in them.
