Biaroza citizens appeal against non-inclusion in Biaroza District Electoral Commission

The residents of Biaroza Tamara Schapiotkina and Siarhei Rusetski filed a lawsuit to the Biaroza District Court. They ask to consider the decision of the Presidiumof the Biaroza District Council of Deputies and the Biaroza District Executive Committee about the establishment of the Biaroza District Electoral Commission on elections of President of the Republic of Belarus illegal and to include them in the commission.

T. Shchapiotkina and S. Rusetski were nominated to the commission by collecting signatures from voters who had also delegated them to the appropriate meeting on the formation of the commission. However, Rusetski and Shchapiotkina weren’t informed about the date and time of the meeting, though they submitted an appropriate written inquiry to the Chairperson of the Biaroza District Executive Committee and the Presidium of the Biaroza District Council of Deputies. They even made an entry in the book of comments and proposals of the Executive Committee. Prior to the meeting they also had telephone conversations with an officer of the Department of organizational and personnel work of the district executive committee. He didn’t give them the necessary information and advised to look for it at the website of the executive committee. An appropriate note appeared at the website at about 8.30 a.m. on 28 September, after the beginning of the meeting, and the written note telling them to look at the site was received 6,5 hours after the end of the meeting.

Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections