In response to the Russian attacks in Ukraine and the involvement of Belarus in this aggression, the Central Election Commission (CEC) sent a letter to the Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO) on Thursday, urging the expulsion of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Elections and Holding Republican Referenda from the ACEEEO.
The CEC of Latvia considers that endangering the independence and freedom of the state of Ukraine as well as the lives of its people is unacceptable, therefore calls to convene the General Assembly of the ACEEEO as soon as possible and other ACEEEO members to stay united and support expulsion of the electoral management bodies of Russia and Belarus from the Association. The aggression of both countries is contrary to the aims of the Association, to the values and principles of democracy, and blatantly violates the motto of the ACEEEO “Non armis, sed vi suffragiorum” (“By the authority of the ballot, not the force of the bullet”).
“Our values are democracy, freedom and fair elections. It is not acceptable that states demonstrating the opposite and trying to gain power illegitimately are represented in the ACEEEO. Any kind of violence against the population and the violent takeover of power, not by way of free and fair elections, is reprehensible. We are with the people of Ukraine and stand for the renewal of peace and the cessation of aggressive attacks,” stresses the Chairperson of the CEC, Kristīne Bērziņa.
The ACEEEO was founded in 1991 and is a nongovernmental organization with the primary goal to provide an objective forum, independent from any national government, for information exchange concerning elections and political processes among election officials, experts and scientists in order to foster free, democratic and fair elections in member states and region of action of the Association. The CEC of Latvia has been represented in the ACEEEO since 1991. The Chairperson of the CEC, Kristīne Bērziņa, has also been elected to the Executive Board of the Association.
CEC Information Department
Tel. +371 20237331