IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 673 

Expressing support for the efforts of the people of the Republic of Belarus 

to establish a full democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human 

rights and urging the Government of Belarus to conduct a free and 

fair presidential election on March 19, 2006. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2006 

Mr. SHIMKUS (for himself and Mr. GALLEGLY) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the efforts of the people of the Republic of Belarus to establish a full democracy, the rule 

of law, and respect for human rights and urging the 

Government of Belarus to conduct a free and fair presidential election on March 19, 2006. 

Whereas the establishment of a democratic, transparent, and 

fair election process for the 2006 presidential election in 

the Republic of Belarus and of a genuinely democratic 

political system are prerequisites for that country’s integration into the Western community of nations; 

Whereas the Government of Belarus has accepted numerous 

specific commitments governing the conduct of elections 

as a participating State of the Organization for Security 
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and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including provisions 

of the 1990 Copenhagen Document; 

Whereas these commitments, which encourage transparency, 

balance, and impartiality in an election process, have become the standard by which observers determine whether 

elections have been conducted freely and fairly; 

Whereas the election on March 19, 2006, of the next president of Belarus will provide an unambiguous test of the 

extent of the commitment of the Belarusian authorities 

to implement these standards and build a democratic society based on free elections and the rule of law; 

Whereas previous elections in Belarus have not met international standards; 

Whereas the 2004 vote on the constitutional referendum in 

Belarus did not meet international standards; 

Whereas it is the duty of government and public authorities 

at all levels to act in a manner consistent with all laws 

and regulations governing election procedures and to ensure free and fair elections throughout the entire country, 

including preventing activities aimed at undermining the 

free exercise of political rights; 

Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires a period 

of political campaigning conducted in an environment in 

which neither administrative action nor violence, intimidation, or detention hinder the parties, political associations, and the candidates from presenting their views and 

qualifications to the citizenry, including organizing supporters, conducting public meetings and events throughout the country, and enjoying unimpeded access to television, radio, print, and Internet media on an equal basis; 
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Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires that citizens be guaranteed the right and effective opportunity to 

exercise their civil and political rights, including the right 

to vote free from intimidation, threats of political retribution, or other forms of coercion by national or local authorities or others; 

Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires the full 

transparency of laws and regulations governing elections, 

multiparty representation on election commissions, and 

unobstructed access by candidates, political parties, and 

domestic and international observers to all election procedures, including voting and vote-counting in all areas of 

the country; 

Whereas control and manipulation of the media by national 

and local officials and others acting at their behest could 

raise grave concerns regarding the commitment of the 

Belarusian authorities to free and fair elections; 

Whereas efforts by national and local officials and others acting at their behest to impose obstacles to free assembly, 

free speech, and a free and fair political campaign will 

call into question the fairness of the upcoming election in 

Belarus; and 

Whereas the arrest or intimidation of opposition political parties and candidates, such as the leader of the Unified 

Democratic Forces and other people involved with the opposition, represents a deliberate assault on the democratic process: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) looks forward to the development of cordial 

3 relations between the United States and the Repub4 lic of Belarus; 
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1 (2) emphasizes that a precondition for the inte2 gration of Belarus into the Western community of 

3 nations is its establishment of a genuinely demo4 cratic political system; 

5 (3) expresses its strong and continuing support 

6 for the efforts of the Belarusian people to establish 

7 a full democracy, the rule of law, and respect for 

8 human rights in Belarus; 

9 (4) urges the Government of Belarus to guar10 antee freedom of association and assembly, including 

11 the right of candidates, members of political parties, 

12 and others to freely assemble, to organize and con13 duct public events, and to exercise these and other 

14 rights free from intimidation or harassment by na15 tional or local officials or others acting at their be16 hest; 

17 (5) urges the Government of Belarus to meet 

18 its Organization for Security and Cooperation in Eu19 rope (OSCE) standards and commitments on demo20 cratic elections, including the standards on free and 

21 fair elections as defined in the 1990 Copenhagen 

22 Document; 

23 (6) urges the Belarusian authorities to en24 sure— 
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1 (A) the full transparency of election proce2 dures before, during, and after the 2006 presi3 dential election; 

4 (B) unobstructed access by election mon5 itors from the Office of Democratic Institutions 

6 and Human Rights (ODIHR), other partici7 pating States of the OSCE, Belarusian political 

8 parties, candidates’ representatives, nongovern9 mental organizations, and other private institu10 tions and organizations—both foreign and do11 mestic—to all aspects of the election process, 

12 including unimpeded access to public campaign 

13 events, candidates, news media, voting, and 

14 post-election tabulation of results and proc15 essing of election challenges and complaints; 

16 (C) multiparty representation on all elec17 tion commissions; 

18 (D) unimpeded access by all parties and 

19 candidates to print, radio, television, and Inter20 net media on a non-discriminatory basis; 

21 (E) freedom of candidates, members of op22 position parties, and independent media organi23 zations from intimidation or harassment by 

24 government officials at all levels via selective 

25 tax audits and other regulatory and bureau-
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1 cratic procedures, and in the case of media, li2 cense revocations and libel suits, among other 

3 measures; 

4 (F) a transparent process for complaint 

5 and appeals through electoral commissions and 

6 within the court system that provides timely 

7 and effective remedies; and 

8 (G) vigorous prosecution of any individual 

9 or organization responsible for violations of 

10 election laws or regulations, including the appli11 cation of appropriate administrative or criminal 

12 penalties; 

13 (7) encourages the international community, in14 cluding the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and the 

15 OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, to continue their ef16 forts to support democracy in Belarus and urges 

17 countries such as Lithuania and other Baltic coun18 tries and Nordic countries to continue to provide as19 sistance to nongovernmental organizations and other 

20 Belarusian organizations involved in promoting de21 mocracy and fair elections in Belarus; and 

22 (8) pledges its support to the Belarusian peo23 ple, their commitment to a fully free and open demo24 cratic system, their creation of a prosperous free 

25 market economy, and their country’s assumption of 
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1 its rightful place as a full and equal member of the 

2 Western community of democracies. 

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