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Belarusian opposition rallies in Minsk against unfair parliamentary elections

Unhindered protesters gathered for an unauthorized rally in Minsk

© EPA/TATYANA ZENKOVICH, archive

MINSK, September 12 /TASS/. Dozens of Belarusian opposition members have been rallying in central Minsk against the Sunday parliamentary elections, which were unfair in their view.

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"There were no elections. It is another political farce. We demand new elections," Vladimir Neklyayev, the former presidential candidate, said.

Unhindered protesters gathered for an unauthorized rally at the foot of the Palace of the Republic on Oktyabrskaya Square in Minsk.

Elections to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly (the lower house of parliament) took place in Belarus on September 11. According to the Central Electoral Commission, deputies were elected in all Belarusian constituencies according to a majoritarian system - 110 constituencies elected 110 deputies out of 484 contenders running for the deputy mandates. The final turnout was 74.8% (compared to 74.61% at the 2012 parliamentary elections).

On Monday, international observers noted both progress in the country’s election system and significant shortcomings in the implementation of previous recommendations to amend the election legislation. The observers praised the organizer’s strive to make the elections more democratic and transparent. At the same time, PACE urged Belarus to get down to the legal reform without delay.

Earlier, representatives of a number of Belarusian political parties and public associations, which form a center right coalition, disagreed with the election outcome. They claimed that the authorities had appointed the deputies. The opposition said it had documentary proof to confirm the election fraud.

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