RESOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS OF DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS AND BELARUSIAN ELECTION LEGISLATION" (5-6 December 2002, Raubichy)

We, participants of the international conference "International Standards of Democratic Elections and Belarusian Election Legislation", representatives of broad public of the Republic of Belarus: non-governmental organizations, political parties, trade union, women, and youth movements have discussed conformity of the Election Code of the Republic of Belarus to the international standards. We state that Belarusian election legislation and the practice of its application do not satisfy the Convention of the Association of Central and Eastern European Election Organizers "About the Standards of Elections, Election Rights and Freedoms", and other international standards.
We point out that the recommendations of ODIHR OSCE and Association of Central and Eastern European Election Organizers (ACEEEO) have not been taken into account. In order to improve the election legislation and bring it into compliance with the internationally recognized principles and norms of organizing free and democratic elections, it is necessary to make the following proposals for democratization of the election process in the Republic of Belarus:
1. To amend the Election Code of the Republic of Belarus with the norms, which oblige the Central Election Commission to publish the general commentaries to articles of the Election Code before the beginning of the election process, aiming at their unified application in presidential, parliamentary and local elections;
2. To guarantee membership in election commissions to representatives of political parties and non-governmental associations. To renounce nomination of representatives of working collectives and executive power bodies for membership in election commissions.
3. To amend the Election Code, securing the rights of observers to freely observe the course of the election process and vote tabulation, and to guarantee their right to be present during transference of voting results protocols from lower- to higher-level election commissions and summing up of election results in territorial election commissions;
4. To cancel early voting;
5. To provide observers with free access to all stages of election process, including their right to be present during voting at voters' place of residence;
6. To allow observers to take photos and video-tape sessions of election commissions, voting process and vote tabulation at polling stations;
7. To prohibit all election process participants, who are present in election premises, where votes are counted, from leaving the premises without permission of precinct election commission chairperson and from telephoning before the final voting results protocol is signed;
8. To oblige chairperson or secretary of election commission to provide observers with certified copies of final results protocols;
9. To guarantee the compliance of final protocol form of precinct election commission with the election legislation, with results of separate vote tabulation included;
10. To cancel obligatory informing the bodies, which created election commissions, about voting results;
11. To conduct recount of votes if mistakes, inaccuracies in precinct and territorial commission protocols, or other violations, made in the course of voting or vote tabulation, are revealed. Full precinct commission recounts votes in the presence of observers, candidates' proxies, and representatives of a higher and/or the Central Commission;
12. to strictly follow the provisions of the Constitution, the Law "On Press and Other Mass Media", other legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus and international legislation in coverage of election process;
13. to provide all participants of election process with possibility to appeal against any actions (failure to act) of election commissions of all levels in legal form.

Human Rights Center "Viasna"
Francysk Skaryna Belarusian Language Society
Belarusian Helsinki Committee
Belarusian Association of Journalists
Center for Human Rights
Open Society Foundation
Belarusian National Voters' Club
Independent Society of Legal Research
Legal Assistance to Population
Lew Sapeha Foundation
Free Trade Union of Belarus
Belarusian Organization of Working Women
Civic Society Center Supolnasc
Belarusian Entrepreneurs' Union
Youth association Belarusian Perspective
Women's movement Motherland Revival
Youth Christian Social Union
Belarusian Popular Front
United Civic Party
Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada)
Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada
Communist Party of Belarus
Labor Party
Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus