21.04.2010 UCP Hrodna candidate detained by road police

On 21 April, Hrodna road police detained the United Civil Party activist Dzmitry Bandarchuk, who is running for the city council. The candidate was told a car similar to his had been spotted in a road accident back on 17 April. As a result, his car was searched. The actual reasons for the search are unknown.

21.04.2010 CEC chair Yarmoshyna indirectly admits violations by Baranavichy town election commission

On 20 April Mikalai Charnavus, who was refused registration as a candidate, received a reply to his complaint from the Central Election Commission, signed by the Commission’s chair Lidzia Yarmoshyna.

21.04.2010 Babruisk election commission members ordered to secure 80 % turnout

Members of one of Babruisk local election commissions were ordered to secure 80 % of voters’ turnout, says one of the commissioners. Besides, some of the candidates were ordered to be sunk, including Mikhail Karalkou, head of the Belarusian Free Trade Union, who is running for the town council.

21.04.2010 Authorities tried to break pre-election picket, says candidate Finkevich

Artur Finkevich, the Young Belarus youth movement leader, who is running for the Minsk City Council, claims that the local authorities tried to break the candidate’s canvassing event on 18 April outside the ‘Druzhba’ cinema in the Chyzhouka microdistrict of Minsk.

21.04.2010 Polatsk: meetings only with pro-state candidates

In 9 out of 32 constituencies of the town of Polatsk, with more than one candidates running for the local council seats, it is only the pro-state one whose meeting with voters is advertised by the local state-run newspaper ‘Polatski vesnik’.

21.04.2010 Leaflets of pro-state candidate distributed in Babruisk shops

Canvassing leaflets of Uladzimir Stelmak, head of Babruisk bus fleet, who is running for the Minsk Regional Council, are distributed in a number of Babruisk shops, which is forbidden by the Electoral Code.

21.04.2010 Krychau voters still unaware of pro-state candidates’ income data

There is no information on the incomes of the pro-state candidates, running for the Krychau District Council, says Siarhei Niarouny, editor-in-chief of the ‘Volny horad’ local independent newspaper, who is also running for both the district and the regional councils.

21.04.2010 Mahiliou: candidate’s leaflet censored

According to Aliaksei Paulouski, running for the Mahiliou City and Regional Councils, his election leaflet has been censored by the local printing house.

21.04.2010 Syarhei Vaznyak: It is clearly seen by ballots how rigging is done in Belarus

The early vote procedure which has started in the elections to local councils of deputies of the 26th convocation, according to experts, is an entirely undemocratic procedure.

21.04.2010 Independent journalist detained for interviewing European Belarus leader

A journalist interviewing Andrei Sannikov was detained by militia in the center of Minsk.

As Andrei Sannikov, the leader of the civil campaign European Belarus, told in an interview to charter97.org, independent journalist Tatsyana Belashova was filming an interview with him in Frunze Street near Gorky Park, when a car with three militiamen drove up.

21.04.2010 Syarhei Kavalenka got 7 days of arrest for white-red-white flag in court

Syarhei Kavalenka, an activist of the Conservative Christian Party BPF, stood trial in Vitsebsk on April 21.

Judge Inna Hrabouskaya sentenced the activist to seven days of arrest for an action held by Syarhei Kavalenka with a national white-red-white flag near the Kastrychnitski district court on April 20, Radio Svaboda informs.