The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for April 2010

26.04.2010 Babruisk: strange calculations by commission members

The members of the election commission at Babruisk’s polling station #14 reportedly rigged the voting results, says candidate Yauhen Vaskovich, who had seen a paper drawn up by the commission members, saying that several hundred ballots were gone. However, after the vote counting the ballots were suddenly found.

26.04.2010 Hlybokaye district: votes counted separately, results not announced

Zmitser Lupach, representative of the unregistered Belarusian Christian Democracy Party, observed the vote counting at constituency #17 in the village Dzerkaushchyna, Hlybokaye district, and claims that although the commission members counted the ballots for early votes separately, they failed to announce the final results to the observers.

26.04.2010 Verkhniadzvinsk: number of invalid ballots reaches record figure

The results of vote counting in the town of Verkhniadzvinsk turned out to be rather strange. A huge number of ‘spoilt ballots’ were found at the polling stations with candidates representing the Belarusian Social Democratic Party ‘Hramada’ – up to 120 per station.

26.04.2010 Siarhei Vazniak: ‘I am shocked by the futility of such observation’

Member of the Minsk City Election Commission Siarhei Vazniak visited a number of the city’s polling stations and arrived at a decision that the maintenance of vote counting does arouse much trust in the its results and renders the observation absolutely futile.

26.04.2010 Election campaigning by candidates for deputies of Local Councils of Deputies of the 26th convocation. Analysis and Trends.

According to Art. 45 of the Electoral Code, the citizens of the Republic of Belarus, political parties and other public associations, work collectives, the candidates’ proxies have the right to free and full discussion of the election programs of candidates, their political, business and personal qualities, to campaigning for or against a candidate at meetings, rallies, through media, as well as during meetings with voters.

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.