MINSK (Sputnik) – The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) declared the parliamentary elections in Belarus free, fair and in accordance with national legislature in a statement released on Monday.
"The elections were held in accordance with national law, all the activities of the electoral process took place openly and widely reported in the media," SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov told reporters.
A total of 101 lawmakers were elected to the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on Sunday out of 484 candidates in a majority voting system. Observers from the nine-member Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) post-Soviet regional organization said the vote was open, democratic and transparent earlier.
The SCO is a political, economic and military alliance that includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The bloc's primary goals include strengthening mutual trust and neighborly relations among the members and encouraging effective cooperation in a wide range of areas.
