Standard restrictions on signature pickets imposed all over Vitsebsk region

By its regulation No. 6 for January 9 the Orsha District Executive Committee identified places where it was prohibited to collect signatures for nomination of candidates. Moreover, there is a special annex to the regulation, which is hard to find at the website of the executive committee, whereas the regulation itself does not mention any place of urban infrastructure.

Decision number 6 was published at the website of the Orsha district executive committee in the section “Elections” and is called “On determining the places in the Orsha district, banned for pickets to collect signatures for nomination of candidates for deputies of local Councils of Deputies of the Republic of Belarus of 27 convocation". It states that the executive committee has determined such places, but they aren't listed in the text of the document. The restrictions on the signatures pickets are similar to that of the previous election campaign: collecting signatures is prohibited at a distance of less than 20 meters from the administrative bodies, enterprises of water, heating and energy supply, railway and bus stations of Orsha and at enterprises and institutions with restricted access.

The regulation also states that information about the places where collection of signatures is prohibited should be published. The site of the executive committee has really published it, whereas the state-owned “Arshanskaya Hazeta” hasn't done it. Although its website also has the section “Elections”, in contains only one message, that the local elections were scheduled for 23 March 2013.

The restrictions on the signature pickets in other settlements of the Orsha district remind of the annex to the regulation of the Orsha District Executive Committee, containing 2-3 paragraphs with a list of objects and distances. In general, it is prohibited to collect signatures near train stations, buildings of public services, educational and health care institutions, etc. However, in some places there are interesting exceptions to this rule.

For instance, in Navapolatsk it is also prohibited to collect signatures on the "plots , where the construction of urban infrastructure objects is planned". In this case, it would be logical attach to the regulation of the executive committee the plan of the prospective development of the city. In the Hlybokaye district picketing is allowed no closer than 50 meters from educational institutions and at least 100 meters from health care institutions. In the Dokshytsy district members of electoral teams aren't allowed to collect signatures closer than 100 meters from hospitals and clinics, whereas they can do it at a distance of 20 meters from schoolsand kindergartens. In the Dubrouna district it was stated that signatures cannot be collected “on the territories” of such institutions (no meter limits are mentioned). However, it is unclear how the territory is determined in this case – by the technical plan or by the surrounding fence.

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