Constituency commissions: information from regions
Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections sum up the information received from the regions on the stage of forming of constituency commissions on elections to the oblast Soviets of Deputies.
Homel: representation and gender equality
Teachers constitute the largest social group in the constituency commissions of Homel. Homel has a total of 20 commissions comprising 13 persons each. The number of women considerably exceeds the number of men: 164 vs. 96. 74 persons (49 women and 25 men) were nominated to the commissions through collection of signatures. It was noticed, that this method of nomination was also used by state officials including officers of the city’s administration. 64 members of the commissions are representatives of such civil associations as the Belarusian Union of Women, unions of military officers and veterans of WWII and the war in Afghanistan. 11 women represent the Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM), 11 more – Belaya Rus. 56 persons were nominated by working collectives of Homel. 31 out of these 56 represent kindergartens, secondary schools, vocational-training schools and colleges.
Constituency commissions of Homel also include 39 representatives of different trade unions. For instance, there’s ‘Belarusian trade union of officers of state and other institutions’. Such trade unions nominated to the commissions representatives of the district administrations of Homel. Mikalai Maly, Deputy Chairman of the Savetski district executive committee in Homel, was nominated to a commission as a member of the civil association of veterans of the war in Afghanistan.
The commissions also include 27 members of different parties, including 9 women (8 represent the pro-governmental Communist Party of Belarus (CPB) and 1 – the United Civil Party(UPB)) and 18 men (6 also represent the CPB, 5 – the Social Democratic Party of People’s Agreement, 3 – the UPB and 3 – the Fair World).
Mazyr: members of the United Democratic Forces included in three commissions
Members of the United Democratic Forces were included in just three constituency election commissions in Mazyr. Siarhei Lapusta (UCP) was included in commission #41 in Internatsyianalnaya election constituency, Ales Hnedzka (UCP) – in commission #43, Paleskaya election constituency and halina Hutsko (Fair World) – in commission #45, Prytytskaya election constituency, an additional constituency in Mazyr district. In Mazyr there’s a total of six constituencies on elections to the Homel oblast Soviet of Deputies.
Commission #41 is headed by Feliks Haliuk, Deputy Chairperson of the Mazyr district executive committee (DEC), known to the civil activists of Mazyr by banning pickets, rallies and meetings with Belarusian writers.
Valiantsin Biahliak, another Deputy Chairperson of the Mazyr DEC, heads the commission #43. The commissions mostly consist of the people who worked there during the previous elections. All of them have members of the CPB, BRSM, two members of different pro-governmental trade unions. Many of them are representatives of Belaya Rus, though only two representatives were officially nominated by this ‘state NGO’.
All officers of the executive committee were nominated through collection of signatures. Many members of the commissions also are representatives of administration of enterprises of Mazyr and Mazyr district.
Vitsebsk: 20 representatives of opposition in constituency commissions
On 6 February the Vitsebsk oblast executive committee and the Presidium of the Vitsebsk oblast Soviet of Deputies held a joint sitting on forming 60 constituency commissions for elections to the Vitsebsk oblast Soviet of Deputies. The sitting was attended by the oblast administration, representatives of the political parties and civil associations who had nominated their members to the commissions, and representatives of mass media.
Members to the constituency commissions were actively nominated by citizens, working collectives, civil associations and political parties – almost the whole political and civil specter of participants of the electoral process.
233 (32%) of the people included in the commissions, were nominated through collection of signatures, 126 (17%) – by working collectives and 380 (51%) – by civil associations and political parties. A total of 739 people will work in the constituency election commissions in Vitsebsk oblast.
56 members of the commissions represent Belaya Rus, 104 – the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, 60 – the Belarusian Republican Youth Union, 28 – the Belarusian Union of Women, 55 – the Vitsebsk oblast organization of the Union of Veterans.
The Belarusian Party of United Leftists Fair World has 15 representatives, the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada – 1, the Communist Party of Belarus – 32, the Belarusian Popular Front Party – 4 and the Republican Party of Work and Justice – 7.
However, some well-known oppositionists weren’t included in the commissions. In particular, Pavel Seviarynets, co-Chairperson of the Belarusian Christian Democracy, was nominated to one of the constituency commission through collection of signatures, but wasn’t included.
Orsha: representatives of Fair World included in constituency commissions
65 constituency commissions on elections to the Vitsebsk oblast Soviet of Deputies were formed at the recent joint sitting of the Vitsebsk oblast executive committee and the Presidium of the Vitsebsk oblast Soviet of Deputies.
The town of Orsha will be represented in the Soviet by six deputies, and Orsha district – by two more. The Belarusian Party of United Leftists Fair World nominated its representatives to the eight constituencies at which there representatives will be elected.
As a result, six nominees of the party were included in the commissions. Viktar Kazlouski was included in the constituency commission #35, Uladzimir Kazlouski – in the commission #18, Uladzimir Palivoda – in the commission #36, Minai Karniyenka – in the commission #33, Vasil Kabacheuski – in the commission #32 and Aleh Mazurau – in the commission #31.
Mikalai Dziamidau, Chairperson of the Orsha city organization of the Fair World was nominated to the constituency commission #34, but wasn’t included, as well as Vasil Hotsman, another member of the party. It’s quite interesting that both of them were members of election commissions and refused to sign the final minutes of the vote count. They believe this is the reason why they weren’t included in the commissions this time.
Baranavichy: a representative of the Fair World was included in a constituency commissions, members of the Belarusian Christian Democracy were not
On 8 February the constituency commissions on elections to the Brest oblast Soviet of Deputies were formed. Representatives of just two opposition parties, the BCD and the Fair World, nominated their representatives to them. Two BCD activists were nominated to commissions through collection of signatures: Aliaksei Marozau – to the Baranavichy south-western constituency commission #20, and Tatsiana Malashchanka – to the Baranavichy north-eastern constituency commission #16. Earlier these activists were also nominated to the Baranavichy city election commission, but weren’t included either.
Ryhor Druzhynin, a representative of the Fair World, became the only representative of the political opposition included in a constituency election commission in Baranavichy.
Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections
