Potential candidate in Bykhau appeals groundless pressure

Siarhei Antonau, member of the Belarusian Popular Front running for the Mahiliou Regional Council, filed a complaint with the district election commission of Bykhau constituency No. 14.

The potential candidate complains about facts of undue pressure on voters who signed for his nomination on the part of members of the district commission, who have been verifying signature sheets, as well as by the voters’ employers.

"Yesterday and today, I have received numerous calls from people who have signed for my nomination as a candidate for the Mahiliou Regional Council; they tell about numerous facts of not quite adequate behavior by members of the district commission, asking for verification of signatures for my nomination,” says Siarhei Antonau. “They also put pressure on people at their work. The question arises - how did they find out who and for whom put their signature? All that I have stated in my complaint to the district election commission of Bykhau town constituency No. 14.”

According to Siarhei Antonau, he also phoned the Central Election Commission to tell about how "honest" is the start of the election campaign in Bykhau.

"I called the CEC to tell about how peculiar the electoral campaign in Bykhau is. I first talked with an employee of the legal department, Nadzeya Kisialiova. She listened carefully, and said that "we did not observe the facts of pressure" and advised me to file a complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office. After that I managed to get through to the CEC Secretary Mikalai Lazavik, who also listened to me and said that this should not be tolerated, and that my information would be taken into account,” says Siarhei Antonau.

However, the potential candidate is not going to file a complaint to the prosecutor. According to him, there are people who are willing to tell about the pressure in public, but he does not want to put them in an even more precarious position.

"People have already started to have problems at work just because they signed up for my nomination as a candidate. If they begin to "speak", the pressure will be even greater, and I will not be able to help these people," says the BPF member.

"Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections"