29.03.2010 Democrats lose 30% in Mahiliou region

The local election commissions of Mahiliou region registered 5,794 candidates, refusing registration to 64 persons, the official web-site of Mahiliou Region Executive Committee reports.

29.03.2010 UN HR Committee registers complaint by Brest activist

The UN Human Rights Committee registered an individual complaint by Brest Belarusian Popular Front activist Siarhei Lazenka, the BelaPAN news agency reports, quoting local human rights defender Raman Kisliak.

29.03.2010 Journalist Shchukin fined million

On 26 March Buda-Kashaliova district court fined journalist and activist Valery Shchukin BYR 1,050,000 for violating Paragraph 2 of Article 22.9 of the Civil Code (distribution of periodicals without output data), following his arrest on 25 March while transporting 24,000 copies of the Nash dom independent newspaper in his car, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reports.

29.03.2010 Agitation stands in Mazyr exist on paper only

According to the Zhytstsio Palessia Mazyr local newspaper, the town’s district executive committee approved a list of locations authorized for installing election agitation stands. However, the canvassing campaign having been announced, many of the specified locations still lack agitation stands, including a number of key public sites: major industrial enterprises etc.

29.03.2010 Election or appointment?

According to official data provided by the Minskaya prauda state-owned newspaper, most of the Minsk region’s district and village constituencies are likely to see appointment of deputies, rather than genuine elections, with 796 seats in the district councils to be claimed by 804 candidates, and 3,400 seats in the village councils to be run for by 3,296 candidates.

29.03.2010 Baranavichy businessman appeals registration refusal

Mikalai Charnavus, Baranavichy entrepreneur, lodged a complaint with the Brest Regional Election Commission, after he was refused registration as a candidate for the town council by the Baranavichy Town Election Commission.

29.03.2010 Franak Vyachorka prohibited to carry out election campaign

The political soldier Franak Vyachorka, who serves in Mozyr, was registered as a candidate for deputy of Mozyr district council on March 24.

As "Human rights activists for free elections" inform, now he is waiting for a verdict of the Central military and medical comission concerning his possible early discharge from military service on medical grounds.

29.03.2010 Most Barysau district constituencies to be non-alternative

According to information released by the Barysau District Election Commission, 34 seats in the District Council will be claimed by 41 candidates. Still, the data are not final.

29.03.2010 BPF Mazyr member to appeal registration refusal

Uladzimir Tseliapun, member of the Belarusian Popular Front party, lodged a complaint with the Homel Regional Election Commission, after he was refused registration as a candidate for the Homel Regional Council and the Mazyr District Council due to the activist’s failure to declare a land parcel in his income statement.

29.03.2010 Homel For Freedom activist refused registration over date error

Ihar Salauyou, Homel ‘For Freedom’ activist, was refused registration due to alleged forgery in the signatures collected by his campaign team. According to a campaign team activist Andrei Stryzhak, some 60% of the signatures were found fake, with the dates having been allegedly written by the campaign members, instead of the signers themselves.

29.03.2010 Belarusian election commissions engaged in uncovered forgery?

Ryhor Hryk, Viktar Tsyapin, and Zmitser Auhust, who failed to be registered in local council member candidates in Baranavichy, filed complaints to the Brest region election commission on March 26–27.

Mikalai Charnavus and unregistered candidate Aleh Malashchanka are preparing similar complaints, “Human Rights Activists for Free Elections” reports.

29.03.2010 500-dollar fine for demand to release Autukhovich

The court sentenced Andrei Kuzminski, a Young Belarus activist, to a 40-basic unit fine.

As Radio Svaboda reminds, youth activist Andrei Kuzminski was detained in the morning March 29. Then the oppositionist was taken to the court.

29.03.2010 Soviet power in separate district

Slips of the tongue by Belarusian officials can make one think.

Eduard Balanchuk, a representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in Maladzechna and Maladzecha district, was present at a sitting of conference room of the Maladzechna district executive committee on March 25, where the district election commission registered candidates to local council members, “Human Rights Activists for Free Elections” writes.

26.03.2010 Vitsebsk region: shrewd losses among opposition parties

The opposition of Vitsebsk region have to a great extend lost opportunities to maintain large-scale participation in the election campaign, after it was announced that many of the pro-democratic activists were not registered by local election commissions.

26.03.2010 Svetlahorsk district: democrats lose two candidates

Only 6 pro-democrat activists were registered candidates for the Svetlahorsk district council.