Savinykh: Some countries use the OSCE PA to impose their will

The events in Belarus are a clear demonstration of the double standards in election observation, said Andrei Savinykh, member of the CSTO PA Standing Commission on Political Affairs and International Cooperation, Chairman of the Standing Committee on International Affairs of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and head of the parliamentary delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus to the OSCE PA, at the Coordination Meeting of the Heads of Parliamentary Delegations of the CSTO Member States to the OSCE PA.
He supported the initiative voiced by Umakhan Umakhanov, deputy Chairman of the Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, who suggested the CSTO PA parliamentarians to initiate in the OSCE PA the drafting of a document on election observation of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe based on the Convention on Standards of Democratic Election, Voting Rights and Freedoms in the Member Nations of the CIS.
“Election observation is increasingly often being used as a tool of political pressure and interference in the internal affairs of independent states,” noted Andrei Savinykh.
At the same time, he stressed that “the basic components of democracy and freedom of elections are not outlined. As a result, there is, so to say, a ‘grey zone’ within the OSCE, where many Organization’s Member States use these platforms and the OSCE authority to try to impose their political agenda on our countries.”
Andrei Savinykh expressed his doubts as to whether it would be possible to clarify democratic procedures and standards within the OSCE.
“Rather, we need to develop a relevant toolkit within the CSTO, making it the main reference point for assessing elections in our countries,” he believes