Belarus

Western monitors said a parliamentary election in Belarus, in which opposition candidates failed to win a single seat, fell short of international standards despite “minor improvements.” President Alexander Lukashenko had hoped to secure an endorsement of the election to improve ties with the West and had pledged that the voting would be conducted according to accepted international requirements. “Voting was generally well conducted but the process deteriorated considerably during the vote count. Promises to ensure transparency of the vote count were not implemented,” an OSCE report said. (The Independent, UK)