Central election commission refuses to consider complaints against falsifications
On 13 October the Central election commission refused to grant the complaints filed by some ex- candidates for deputies. Five people demanded that the results of this year’s parliamentary elections were declared invalid and four more demanded that the votes were recounted at certain precincts.
The secretary of the Central election commission Mikalai Lazavik said to RFE/RL: ‘Though the complaints were large in volume, there were no concrete facts of violation of election laws which could serve as sufficient ground for invalidation of the election in a constituency or review of the results of voting at certain precincts. That’s why none of the petitions were granted.’
Among those whose complaints were rejected there are the head of the Party of Communists Belarusian Siarhei Kaliakin, Uladzimir Navasiad, a leader of the entrepreneurs’ movement Leanid Nevar, Uladzimir Siakerka and others. Mr. Navasiad says that there were many law violations during the electoral campaign in his constituency. For instance, the local authorities held a large PR-campaign for his rival Henadz Davydzka, athwart the requirements of the electoral legislation: ‘Five days before the election his program was published in the newspaper Minskiy Kurier with the circulation of 10 000 copies. It was distributed on the territory of the election constituency. By the way, there is a special ruling of the Central election commission enlisting all republican editions where it is permitted to publish electoral programs. In addition, according to the legal requirements, electoral programs are to be published 20 days prior to the election.
Uladzimir Navasiad says that he did not hope that CEC would take a principled position during consideration of the complaints. He explains that he applied to it because of his obligations to the team. ‘I drew many people to my election campaign, that’s why I must do everything possible and use all possibilities’, he said.
The CEC secretary Mikalai Lazavik says that the applicants have no other instances to complain to: ‘According to the electoral legislation the decisions of the Central election commissions are final and cannot be appealed against’.
