WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department said Monday initial reports indicate the Belarus elections, amid charges of fraud, were flawed.
State Department officials, after an initial reading of the results, "found them to be well short of international standards," said spokesman Robert Wood, adding that issues were raised regarding the vote count.
Opposition leaders say Belarus election results Sunday, in which only supporters of President Alexander Lukashenko won parliamentary seats, showed evidence of fraud. Lukashenko said his permitting 400 election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe proved the elections were fair.
"We obviously want to work with the Belarusian government" after a more complete review of reports, Wood said during a news briefing.
