‘Equal conditions’ for candidates in Svetlahorsk

During the agitation campaign a state newspaper Svetlahorskiya Naviny published a number of articles about a pro-governmental candidate Valiantsina Kavaliova. Earlier similar materials were placed in other mass media. Earlier similar articles were published in other state media, but there were no publications about Siarhei Daineka, another candidate at this constituency.

Valiantsina Kavaliova is running for the second term in the parliament. Before becoming an MP she was the deputy head of Svetlahorsk district executive committee. On 2 September Svetlahorskiya Naviny published a 14-line quotation from Kavaliova’s speech at the opening of school #12 in Svetlahorsk. The same issue of the newspaper contained the public appeal of the local organization of the pro-governmental association of war veterans, with calls to vote for Kavaliova. On 4 September the newspaper published Kavaliova’s congratulations to the readers on Oilman’s Day. Svetlahorskiya Naviny is founded by Svetlahorsk district soviet of deputies and Svetlahorsk district executive committee.

Earlier similar articles had been published in Ranak-plius, another local newspaper, and the local TV channel Ranak twice showed Kavaliova under different pretexts.

At the same time, Siarhei Daineka will have only several minutes to appear on TV and the radio of Homel oblast. We really doubt that the state press will publish any articles about him.

Human rights activists for free elections