PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN BELARUS TO BE KEPT AN EYE ON








MINSK, MARCH 7. /RIA NOVOSTI CORRESPONDENT VERA POLLO/ -- The parliamentary "three" of Europe will be monitoring the presidential elections in Belarus and parliamentary by-elections, slated for March 18. This is said in a statement on the results of the visit to Minsk on March 5 through 7 by members of the European Parliament, parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. A copy of the statement has been obtained by the RIA Novosti news agency. 


	Troika looked into the situation in Belarus after the 2000 parliamentary elections and on the eve of the presidential elections. Its members held numerous meetings with Belarussian leaders, as well as representatives of the political opposition and society. 


	The statement says that last October the parliamentary Troika had to state lack of progress that would have been enough to meet criteria of free and fair elections. 


	Among them are equal conditions of access to media for all candidates, moratorium on unfriendly actions from government bodies with regard to candidates and their supporters. 


	Adrian Severin, chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, noted that the Troika is seeking to help Belarus on the road towards open society. We want Belarus to become a full-fledged member of the European Community, said Adrian Severin.