MINSK, November 18. /TASS/. On Monday, head of the CIS observation mission Sergei Lebedev, thoroughly applauded Sunday’s lower-house parliamentary elections in Belarus saying they were dignified, well-organized and in line with the nation’s constitution.
"We believe that the campaign was organized and commendable. Some gaps and shortcomings that were present during the past election campaigns were taken into account," he said.
Lebedev stressed that "the November 17 vote was held in accordance with the Belarusian Constitution and the Electoral Code." "They [the elections] were held openly on a competitive basis. They were free and transparent and were consistent with the principles of holding democratic elections," he said.
Elections to the Belarusian parliament’s lower house were held on Sunday in all constituencies, all 110 members of the legislative body were elected. As many as 513 candidates out of 560 initially registered were vying for seats in the country’s parliament.
Voter turnout was 77.22%, exceeding the 2016 ballot by 3%. None of the opposition was able to gain any seats in the legislature.