Barysau district executive committee keeps 'state secret'

10 March was the last day when the precinct election commissions were to be formed according to the timing schedule. However, the Barysau district executive committee (DEC) refused to inform the Barysau human rights defenders and the leaders of the local organizations of political parties about the date and place of the appropriate sitting, thus depriving them of the opportunity to attend it.

On 9 March Sviatlana Ulasava, Chairperson of the organizational department of the Barysau DEC, and Pavel Zhuha, an officer of the department, repeatedly stated that they didn't know when the sitting would take place. Their efforts to keep the 'state secret' looked somewhat comical. Sviatlana Ulasava put down on a sheet of paper her telephone so that Mikhail Vasiliieu, Chairperson the Barysau district organization of the United Civil Party, could phone her on 10 March to get an answer to the aforementioned question. However, as it was found later, the telephone belonged to the Barysau communications center.

No announcements about the sitting on formation of the precinct commissions were put at the information board in the DEC hall on 9-10 March.

On 10 March afternoon Pavel Zhuha finally confessed that the sitting had already taken place and had been started at 9.30 a.m. Of course, he didn’t inform Mikhail Vasiliieu about its results.

Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections