Scandalous blunder of Mahiliou vertical

It is a well-known fact that results of elections in Belarus have been determined in advance by high-rank officials of Belarus for many years already. It is not a secret that preparation to election finished in our country before the beginning of the election campaign. However, during these elections this information was announced officially for the first time.

On 28 December 2009 the information ’ 58 constituencies for election to the Mahiliou regional Council of Deputies of the 26 Convocation were established in the region (http://region.mogilev.by/ru/node/9180 was posted to the official website of the Mahiliou regional executive committee. There it was stated that the constituencies were established and Valer Berastau, Chairperson of the Main statistical bureau of the Mahiliou region, was elected Chairperson of the Mahiliou regional election commission and Uladzimir Belanohau, associate professor of Mahiliou State University of Nourishment, was elected its Deputy Chairperson. The author of the information is Liudmila Makaranka, secretary of the Mahiliou regional election commission.

At first it is difficult to understand anything, because the presidential decree on appointment of the data of the elections will be issued only a month later, on 18 January 2010, and on 21 January the Central Election Commission will adopt and publish the timing schedule of the election measures where it will be written in black and white that nomination of representatives to regional and territorial commissions will continued till 26 January, the commissions will be formed during three days after it, and during the three days after their establishment the election constituencies will be formed. All this took place in 2010!

Fantastic as it may sound, but the Mahiliou authorities, who have their own schedule and understanding of elections, betrayed themselves by hurried posting of the information they should have kept in secret for a month and then put on their website and publish in press with different dates. Then all would go smoothly. However, instead of it there occurred a failure. God knows whether it happened because of stupidity or lack of professionalism, or this mistake was just overlooked because of preparation to the New Year and Christmas.

Maybe, it is just an internet trick? Anyone who is more or less familiar with electronic media knows that information can be posted under last year’s date. However, the Mahiliou human rights defenders took this possibility into account and required explanations from the Mahililiou regional election commission. They received an unbelievable answer, signed by Deputy Chairperson: ‘The Mahiliou regional election commission was established in line with the law on 27 DECEMBER 2010. The appropriate information about it, as well as about the first organizational sitting, was posted to the website of the Mahiliou regional executive committee on 28 DECEMBER 2010’. Here’s where one’s brain may start boiling: the commission happens to be established in the December that will come in nine months! It seems they learned to lie, but still haven’t acquired the professional ‘elegance’ in it.

But what is the practical meaning this story? It means that the present elections must be annulled as unlawful. The whole election campaign must be started from the beginning and must be held according to the law, not according to ideas of the Mahiliou authorities.

We would also like to hope that such gross violation of the election legislation will draw the attention of the procuracy and it will have enough courage and respect to the law to take the adequate legal measures towards such ‘organizers of elections’. We’d also like to advise officers of the procuracy to have a talk with the member of the Mahiliou regional election commission who represents the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus, as he confessed in a private talk having become a member of the commission back at the end of 2009.

Most probably, soon after our article appears on the web, the scandalous report about the great blunder of the Mahiliou vertical will be removed from the website of the Mahiliou regional executive committee. That’s why we put here some screenshots revealing the real situation of elections.

All interested sides can also try to access this sensational information on the link above, or look for it at the archive of www.region.mogilev.by.

Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections