“Family Election”

The present Chairperson of Sianno District Deputy Soviet, accountant of Tsivirazew collective farm Halina Vasilionak became Head of the local circuit electoral commission. Her husband, Vasil Vasilionak, participates in the election as a candidate to the Soviet his wife chairs, which gave the reason for jokes that in this town “family election” will take place. The only Vasilionak’s rival, 42-years-old reserve military officer Aleh Shumkow, was quite surprised to find that Vasilionak’s wife heads the commission. Besides, vice-Chair of the circuit commission Nadzeya Dubavets is H. Vasilionak’s subordinate. Two other commission members, Volha Platonava and Valiantsina Zhdanovich, work in the same accountant office with the abovementioned commission officials.

Sviatlana Viartsinskaya, secretary of the district electoral commission, thusly explained such forming of the electoral commission, which seems strange even for Belarus: “According to the Electoral Code, the forming of the commission preceded nomination of candidates. Then Vasil Vasilionak formed an initiative group that collected signatures. We checked the signatures and registered him as a candidate. That’s why he ballots in this circuit and I see nothing strange in it.”

Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission Mikalai Lazavik said the following: “There’s no juridical violation. All citizens have equal right, including family members. The only thing, that the commission could be formed in another way, from the human and logical point of view.”

The lawyer of PA HRC “Viasna” Valiantsin Stefanovich says the commissions are formed from representatives of one or two working collectives in accordance with the system, elaborated in the year 2000. These are not a couple of cases, it happens everywhere.