Ruling of Central Electoral Commission Limits Rights of Public Associations and Political Parties

On November 24, 2002 the Central commission of the Republic of Belarus on holding of elections and referenda adopted the ruling “About the usage order for the third part of Article No. 13 of the Electoral code of the Republic of Belarus during preparation and holding of elections to local Deputy Soviets of the Republic of Belarus of the 24h Convocation”.

This ruling regulates the order of monitoring for elections to local Deputy Soviets. Comparison of this ruling with the ruling, issued last year, leads to the following conclusions:

The ruling of the Central commission again limited the rights of public associations and political parties . Point 2 of the Ruling states that only members of public organizations and political parties can become observers, in spite of the fact that Article No. 155 of the Electoral Code describes observer as a person, empowered by a party or other public association…

This year the Central Commission again limited the number of observers from public associations and political parties. According to the second point of the Ruling a political party or other public association has the right to direct only one observer to a local electoral commission sitting or polling station, more than one person can be directed only in the case of previous agreement of a commission, though Article No. 13 of the Electoral Code doesn’t contain such limits.

The new invention of this-year’s ruling is that according to the third point the Republican governing bodies of political parties and other public associations have the right to direct observers only to sittings of the Central electoral commission. Territorial governing bodies of political parties and other public associations have the right to direct observers to sittings of the appropriate territorial, circuit, polling station electoral commissions and polling stations.

Regional (including Miensk city), interregional, borough, inter-borough, city governing bodies of political parties and other public associations have the right to direct observers to appropriate territorial commissions (regional, city, circuit) and polling stations of the appropriate administrative territories. It is a serious violation of rights of political parties and public associations. According to Article No. 6 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “About public associations” republican public association has the right to act on the whole territory of the Republic of Belarus. The Law provides no limitations. Besides, Statutes of certain republican public associations can establish organizational structures. By the way, now there exist considerable obstacles to registration of organizational structures political parties and other public associations. One of them is finding a juridical address. Besides, last year republican governing bodies of political parties and other public associations had the right to direct observers to all commissions and polling stations.