Edmund Lengfelder: Unsanctioned opposition protest will not affect observers’ opinion
GOMEL, 20 December (BelTA) – The unsanctioned protest of Belarusian opposition in Minsk on 19 December will not affect the international observers' assessment, independent observer from Germany Edmund Lengfelder told reporters in Gomel on 20 December.
In his words, the scenes of riots did not impress him. “Young people armed with rods and shovels were trying to break into an administrative building. Any reasonable person would understand that it was just an attempt to start a row and challenge the election results,” said the observer.
In 2008 Edmund Lengfelder monitored the Belarus’ parliamentary election and he noted that the situation was the same then. The opposition did not wait for the official announcement of election results and stated that ‘everything was rigged.’
Speaking on the election in Gomel Oblast, the German observer said that he has visited 25 polling stations and noticed no violations. “I noticed nothing that runs counter to the law. And I am guided only by criteria and recommendations from the ODIHR/OSCE mission while monitoring the election process,” Edmund Lengfelder.
