The serious flaws in the electoral process in the United States put into question the possibility of holding elections in that country in accordance with its OSCE commitments and international standards, a member of Belarus' permanent delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in Vienna on Thursday.
During a discussion of the ongoing presidential campaign in the United States, the Belarusian delegation demanded explanations from US diplomats about the threat of criminal prosecution against OSCE observers in their country, according to the Belarusian foreign ministry's press office.
The United States has not reacted in any way to criticism of its electoral regulations, the press office said.
The limited observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for the 2012 US presidential election has only 57 members, less than ever before in the country's history, the press office said.
On October 19, the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission published a report in which it exposed a number of systemic flaws in the US electoral process, the press office said.
In violation of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document, there is not legal provision in 46 of the USA's 50 states for international election observation, the press office said.
The country's electoral system allows a person to be elected president despite the fact that he won fewer votes than his opponent, the press office said.
The OSCE/ODIHR observers point out that elections in the United States are highly decentralized and that nearly one-fourth of the eligible voters have not registered to vote, the press office said.
As many as 4.1 million citizens who are residents of US territories and 5.9 million citizens who have a criminal conviction are disenfranchised, while some 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia are only eligible to vote in the presidential election, the press office said.
In a letter to US State Secretary Hillary Clinton, ODIHR Director Janez Lenarcic expressed grave concern that officials in the state of Texas had warned OSCE/ODIHR observers that it might be a criminal offense for them to maintain a presence within 100 feet of a polling place's entrance, the press office said. In his letter, Lenarcic denied that the observers were planning to interfere in the voting process in any way, the press office noted.
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