On 25 January 2025, the Mission of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation for Monitoring the Presidential Election in the Republic of Belarus was launched in Minsk.
SCO Secretary-General and Head of Mission Nurlan Yermekbayev held a briefing session for international observers representing seven SCO member states: the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Secretary-General informed members of the mission about its principles and goals, focusing on its impartiality, independence and objectivity, and on the importance for the observer mission to comply with Belarusian law. The observers made plans for visiting polling stations on election day and discussed logistics issues.
The international observers from the SCO also attended a news conference by Igor Karpenko, Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus. The official explained the electoral procedure and the legislative framework, and informed the participants about election preparations and the situation at the polling stations during early election. After the presentation, Igor Karpenko answered questions from journalists who demonstrated a high level of interest in this year’s election in Belarus.