24.09.2008 Brest: Polling stations lack information about candidates

On September 23rd Anatol Liaukovich, chairman of the BSDP (Hramada) and candidate to the Chamber of Representatives in Brest-Zakhodniaya district #1, filed a statement to the Central Election Commission and OSCE and CIS observation missions.

The statement says, according to Article 45 of the Election Code, “stands with informational materials about candidates are to be prepared at all polling stations, no later than 14 days before the election day. Information stands should be kept in the voting premises also on the day of the election”.

24.09.2008 Mahiliou: UDF candidate’s presence "spoiled” the campaign event of the official candidate

Walking by the Square of Stars in the city center, Aliaksei Paulouski saw a youth event organized by city BRSM in support of official candidate Alexander Yushkevich.

Aliaksei Paulouski says he and other candidate were not aware of the event which was taking place. Paulouski did not lose his head. He took out a pack of his leaflet and began to hand them out to passers-by. Inna Karatkevich, head of the local BRSM organization, could not stand that. She started to yell at Aliaksei that he was depraving the youth with his leaflets that had not gone through the state censorship.

24.09.2008 District commission votes for dismissal of candidate Zhukouski

On September 23rd district commission of Buda-Kashaliou district # 38 held a special hearing of the statement by candidate Kanstantsin Zhukouski . In the document Zhukouski states, the elections are not free and fair, that is why he does not think it makes sense for him to further participate in the election.

24.09.2008 Buda-Kashaliou: Campaign materials of the official candidate hang in wrong places

Portraits of the pro-governmental candidate incumbent MP Uladzimir Kuzhanau hang everywhere in Ivolsk village of Buda-Kashaliou district # 38. Posters hang on wells and fences. Certainly, the district commission did not determine these places as the places for posting campaign materials.

24.09.2008 Brest: Observers point to numerous violations on the first day of early voting

On September 23rd during the work of election commission at precinct # 36, at 12.10 two students were writing a test at the desk for observers. When observers came in and asked what was happening and who the people at the desk were, commission chair V. Shcherbachevich told the students to leave the room.

24.09.2008 Candidate Refused to Communicate with a Non-state Newspaper

Miechyslau Kastsiuk, a parliamentary candidate from Slonim (Hrodna region) and his authorized representative Mikalay Lishyk refused to answer a number of questions, put by a «Gazeta Slonimskaya» correspondent Mikalay Kananovich. The questions were related to thecandidate's election pledges.

24.09.2008 Observers note “typical” irregularities in early voting

As many as 2.7 percent of the country’s all registered voters cast ballots on the first day of early voting, according to the central election commission.

Mr. Stefanovich, who is a coordinator of a group monitoring the vote, said that election observers were denied any information about the progress of early voting by members of precinct election commissions. “Our observers are not told how many ballots have been brought to polling stations, how many people are on electoral registers, how many people voted on the first day of early voting,” he said.

24.09.2008 Rechytsa: Leanid Nevar has problems with meetings with people

Two candidates run for the Chamber of Representatives in Rechytsa. Meetings with voters at the city enterprises are organized for head of the finance department of Rechytsa rayon executive committee Ala Isachanka. Independent candidate Leanid Nevar has problems with organizing meetings.

24.09.2008 Baranavichy: Early voting conducted with violations

Representatives of precinct election commissions of Baranavichy-Zakhodniaya district # 5 and Baranavichy rural district # 7 refuse to provide information to agents of candidates Mikalai Charnavus and Ryhor Hryk (both nominated by UCP) and to BHC observers. This is violation of Article 65 of the Constitution and Article 13 of the Election Code that say that elections are to be open and transparent.

24.09.2008 Kobryn: Alexander Mekh writes about violations. Did he choose the right addressee?

On September 23rd candidate in Kobryn district # 12 Alexander Mekh sent an open letter to president Alexander Lukashenka. A. Mekh speaks about serious violations of the election legislation in Kobryn and claims, “by their actions the district election commission and the Central Election Commission discredit not only themselves but the whole election campaign in Belarus”.

23.09.2008 Minsk: CEC does not consider proposals and complaints of opposition members “the global issues”.

The Central Election Commission ignores the majority of the proposals and complaints from the opposition representatives. The sense of practically all replies of the CEC leadership on the remarks and demands of the democrats can be described in one sentence: the raised issues are not worth wasting time on them. The last session of the Central Election Commission is another proof of that.

23.09.2008 Yelsk: Democratic candidate’s team member detained

On September 22nd, 10 p.m. the police detained Vasil Siliverst in Yelsk. He is member of the initiative group of UCP candidate in Paleskaya district # 43 Mikalai Haurylenka.

23.09.2008 Tatsiana Seviarynets drops out from the race

She is the first and the only representative of the opposition in Vitebsk region who decided to stop her participation in the election campaign. The opposition candidate submitted a statement to the district election commission saying she refuses from participation in the election because of systematic violations of the election law during this campaign.

23.09.2008 Mahiliou: Independent candidate faces censorship of her campaign materials

Candidate in Mahiliou-Kastrychnitskaya district # 86 Natallia Zaitsava faced censorship of her campaign materials.

Without her knowledge members of district election commission # 87 made changes in the information poster with her bio.

They deleted information that Natallia Zaitsava lost her job not on her own will but due to Edict 760 which forbade individual entrepreneurs to hire anyone but their close relatives from the text.

Instead, they wrote “temporally unemployed”. Information that Natallia’s father was a worker for 50 years and grandfather headed a group of city partisans and was killed by the Nazis was deleted too.

23.09.2008 Cherykau: Workers of hog-breeding farm forced to ride to the meeting with official candidate Razhanau.

Today, at 5.15 p.m. a meeting of voters with chair of Mahiliou rayon executive committee, candidate in district # 88 Razhanau will take place. The meeting will be held in the school of Verameiki village of Cherykau rayon.

Workers of hog-breeding farm “Svetlaye” claim, after work they are to be put on the bus which will take them to the meeting with that candidate. Besides that, the farm management threatened them that they would create the lists of those who did not come to the meeting, and they would later have problems at work. The service bus which usually takes workers home will not stop at its regular stops but will go directly to Verameiki, where the local school will host a meeting with the official candidate Razhanau.