Belarusian parliamentary elections held in calm atmosphere — Lukashenko

MINSK, September 12. /ITAR-TASS/. Parliamentary elections in Belarus were held in a secure and calm atmosphere, the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko stated at a meeting with the Head of the Presidential Administration, Alexander Kosinets.

"At least in the last 24 hours no one has reported of any security problems or any issues emerging at the polling stations", the head of state said.

He added that the presidential administration had been requested to organize the voting "so that everything is quiet, calm and secure and the people can freely express their opinion, their will."

The president asked whether there were any complaints about the local authorities concerning the organization of the voting process.

Kosinets answered that the elections were carried out in accordance with Belarusian legislation. He added that opposition candidates also took part in the elections which were certified valid at all the 110 constituencies. Turnout was recorded at 74.8%.

"The first feature is the high level of consciousness of our people who actively take part in building up the country. The second is the high level of competition - there were 484 candidates competing in 110 constituencies. And the third feature is the huge amount of work done by all the branches of government so that high degree of orderliness could be maintained during the voting", the head of the presidential administration said.

Kosinets paid special attention to the high voter turnout registered in the country’s capital, Minsk. At the same time, according to him, turnout was registered at 80% at some polling stations. "This indicates that our people are interested and understand the need to elect those who will protect their interests and fulfil the legislative work", the official noted.