Unauthorized person sealed ballot box for five days

Only today, on 28 September, it has been found that Iryna Ivaniushkina, a member of precinct commission #15 of Baranavichy district electoral constituency #5 was fooling the observers Mikalai Severtsau and Yauhen Dauhilovich during the five days of early voting.

As provided by a ruling of the Central electoral commission, the heads of precinct electoral commissions must seal the slits of the ballot boxes at 7 p.m. with sheets of white paper that is to be signed by him and one member of the appropriate precinct commission. Every morning at 10 a.m., during the opening of the polling station, the head of the commission is to remove this sheet from the ballot box. However, it was Ivaniushkina who did it. She said to the observers that she was the deputy-head of the commission. Bear in mind that the signatures of the heads, deputy heads and secretaries of precinct commissions were not published in the state press, though candidates for deputies asked about it many times.

Today it has been found that Iryna Ivaniushkina is just a member of the electoral commission, that’s why she had no powers to sign the paper sheets on behalf of the head of the commission for sealing the slit of the ballot box.

Now the observers are preparing a complaint to the constituency electoral commission.

Human rights activists for free elections