Sample ballots contain peculiar ‘hints’
At some precincts the sample ballots are more than simple examples of filling these papers. In fact, citizens are ‘prompted’ for who they should vote. The matter is that the voting marks are put opposite non-real surnames that are similar to the surnames of the deputies of the Chamber of Representatives and pro-governmental candidates.
Minsk
Kastrychnitski district police department of Minsk went even further – such ‘sample ballots’ were printed in one of September issues of the state newspaper Minskiy Meridian.
In particular, in the sample ballot hanged out at the polling stations of Kastrychnitskaya constituency a voting mark is put opposite Karlau Alexander Markavich (the pro-governmental candidate running at this constituency is Kazlou Aliaksei Maksimavich), vice-director of the production association Interfarm (in reality: vice-director of the production association Intehral).
The other persons standing in the sample ballot are Bachulia Alexander Vasilyevich (Bakulin Aleh Viktaravich) and Utras Dzianis Ihnatavich (Us Dzmitry Invanavich).
By the way, observers and electors note that at some polling stations there are no samples of the ballots that would be considered invalid. In the places, where such sample ballots are hanged out, the voting mark stands opposite the surname of ‘undesirable’ prototype Bachulia (standing of Bakulin).
Babruisk
At polling station #29 of Babruisk-Leninskaya electoral constituency (situated in Maladziozhny alley) there was hanged out a sample ballot with a voting mark opposite the surname reminding of the surname of a pro-governmental candidate Alena Shamal.
‘Most probably, this ballot has been hanged out today, because earlier the observers did not see it’, points the independent candidate Alena Miadzvedzeva who is running at this constituency. ‘We brought the head of the commission to the precinct and pointed at this violation. Then the voting mark was slurred over and was put opposite the heading ‘against all’.
Human rights activists for free elections
