The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for 25 Apr 2010

25.04.2010 Mahiliou: candidate Silkou receives no votes in early vote

Not a single ballot appeared to have been cast in favour of Ales Silkou during the early vote campaign, leader of the Freedom and Progress Party, running for the Mahiliou Regional Council.

25.04.2010 Polatsk: Strange unanimity of early vote

The results of separate vote counting in a number of polling stations of Polatsk proved to be extremely weird.

25.04.2010 Mahiliou: minutes first taken to district administrations

The minutes with the results of the vote are taken to the administrations of the city’s districts, says local human rights activist Aliaksei Kolchyn. ‘There are a lot of people outside the administration of Mahiliou’s Leninski District. The building is cordoned by the police. Only the chairs of divisional elections commission are let inside the building. The police check those who have come to submit the papers by their lists.’

25.04.2010 Brest: observer not allowed watching vote count

Uladzimir Vialichkin, candidate and human rights activist, was not allowed to observe vote counting at a Brest polling station. However, he insisted that the votes were counted separately.

25.04.2010 Brest: blank minutes, pre-signed by all commission members

Siarhei Srednikau, proxy to the candidate Ihar Maslouski, claims that he saw a blank minutes with signatures of all the election commission members, except its chair, at polling station #13 of Brestskaya constituency #16. Then, the chair reportedly started filling in the results of the vote counting.

25.04.2010 Babruisk: candidate not allowed observing vote count

Andrei Stasialovich, BSDP ‘Hramada’ candidate, running in Himnazichnaya constituency #29, was not allowed observing the vote count at two polling stations - ## 84 and 85.

25.04.2010 Biaroza: candidate supervised his employee’s voting

The candidate V.A.Hohan was for nearly all day present at polling station #6 of Biarozauskaya-Leninskaya constituency #6 of the town of Biaroza, although the Electoral Code prohibits that.

25.04.2010 Candidate not allowed observing vote count

Mikalai Ulasevich, running for the Hrodna Regional Council and Varniany Village Council, asked the chair of the election commission at Varniany polling station #7 to allow him observe the counting of votes at a reasonable distance.

25.04.2010 Salihorsk: territorial election commission turns out observer Markhotka

Observer Leanid Markhotka was ordered to leave the meeting of the Salihorsk district election commission.

25.04.2010 Mazyr: constituency election commission moves

The constituency election commission, located at 22 Paleskaya Street in the town of Mazyr, suddenly moved to the local executive committee at 20.00, says Uladzimir Tseliapun, BPF member, running for the Homel Regional Council.

25.04.2010 Minsk: results of separate vote count not announced

According to Belarusian Popular Front observers Anton Koipish and Aliaksei Khadyka, the election commission of Minsk’s polling station #73 of constituency #43 failed to count and announce the number of unused ballots.

25.04.2010 Mahiliou: human rights activist Kolchyn turned out of polling station

The human rights activist Aliaksei Kolchyn was ordered to leave Mahiliou’s polling station #12 five minutes after the count of votes started, despite his official accreditation as an observer, representing the Mahiliou Human Rights Center.

25.04.2010 Mahiliou: unused ballots began to be counted half-hour before end of voting

The members of the election commission at Mahiliou’s polling station #59 began to count the unused ballots half an hour before the official end of voting, says Zmitser Salauyou, leader of the BPF ‘Adradzhennie’ city office.

25.04.2010 CEC secretary Lazavik: ‘If you are not let inside territorial commission, they will be right’

Article 13 of the Electoral Code states the open and public nature of the elections. Observer Siarhei Housha, considering his previous experience, when he was not allowed visiting the Branavichy territorial election commission, decided to inquire about the issue in advance.

25.04.2010 Brest: ballot boxes for early vote and portable boxes carried out of polling station

Observer Siarhei Vakulenka claims that the ballots boxes, as well as the portable boxes, were carried out of Brest’s polling station #55. As a result, neither the observers nor the election commission members could for some time observe their safety.