People are forced to vote early all over Belarus
Citizens react actively to the appeal of Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections to tell about facts of involuntary voting organization.
‘I am a student of the 5th year of the biological department of Belarusian State University. I want to tell you about the fact of agitation for early voting of nonresident students of BSU biological department,’ wrote one of them.
On Thursday, 9 December, at the beginning of the lecture the dean of the biological department Uladzimir Lysak came in. He started speaking about the elections, that he’s being pressed on and that it’s necessary to vote early, as ‘…it’s necessary that every day a certain number of people vote. I address those who live in the dormitory. OK? Won’t you let me down? Thank you.’
The student also learned that those who have voted early will be free from Saturday classes. The BSU students who live in dormitories are also threatened not to be settled there next year if they refuse to vote before the Election Day. A similar situation is observed at Belarusian-Russian University in Mahiliou.
We also became aware of the fact that early voting has been taken place in one of the Minsk schools for a week already.
‘I don’t know how legal this is, but early voting has been conducted for a week already in school #135 in Minsk. People are already being asked to vote,’ runs another appeal.
Also known became the fact of involuntary early voting at the Hrodna enterprise Hrodna Khimvalakno. The same happens at the Mahiliou join-stock companies Mahilioukhimvalakno and Mahateks and at the ceramic plant in Radashkovichy.
‘The workers are forced to go
and vote early. Otherwise, they are threatened that their labor contracts will
not be prolonged!’ an employee of the plant said.
Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections
