The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for 16 Feb 2010

16.02.2010 Barysau district: created constituencies fail to meet legal requirements

Decision #3 of the Barysau district election commission, published the state-owned newspaper Adzinstva, concerns changes of the boundaries of the election constituencies #9 and #10 on the elections to the Barysau district Soviet of Deputies of the 26th Convocations and, correspondingly, changes in the number of electors in these constituencies.

16.02.2010 Election campaign: numbers and tendencies of the last week

The weeks started with sizing up the results of forming of the constituency commissions on elections to the oblast Soviets of Deputies and the Minsk city Soviet of Deputies and holding the first sittings of these commissions. During the week the information on dismissals of claims against non-inclusion of nominees in territorial commissions was summed up. Simultaneously, political parties lodged with courts new complaints – against non-inclusion of their nominees to constituency election commissions, and the local authorities issued rulings on determining the places banned for picketing on collection of signatures in support of pretenders to candidates.

16.02.2010 Assembly of Pro-democratic NGOs voices support to the Polish minority

The leadership of the Assembly of NGOs issued an official statement to condemn the unlawful actions of the Belarusian authorities towards members of the Union of Poles in Belarus not recognized by them.

16.02.2010 Hrodna: judicial absurd

The Hrodna oblast court dismissed the claim of the Hrodna oblast organization of the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada against the decision of the Hrodna oblast executive committee and the Presidium of the Hrodna oblast Soviet of Deputies of 8 February, by which the BSDH representative Uladzimir Khilmanovich hadn’t been included in the Limozh constituency election commission #6.

16.02.2010 Orsha authorities propose seeking information on elections at web-site with unknown address

As Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections have already informed, the Orsha leaders of political parties have complained to a number of state organs against not being informed about the time and place of the joint sitting of the Orhsa district executive committee and the presidium of the Orsha district Soviet of Deputies, at which the decision on forming the district territorial commission on elections was adopted. According to the innovations in the Election Code, the organizations that had nominated their representatives to the commissions have the right to take part in such sittings.