Mahiliou oblast: only two opposition activists included in district electoral commissions

14.07.2008. Tags: Belarusian Popular Front, Party of Communists Belarusian, elections-2008.
Source: RFE/RL.

Mahiliou oblast executive committee and the presidium of Mahiliou oblast soviet of deputies have finished forming the district electoral commissions. They appointed 169 out of 240 candidates to the 13 district electoral commissions of Mahiliou oblast.

Only two out of 20 opposition’s candidates were included in the commissions: representative of the Belarusian Popular Front Party Piatro Mihurski and representative of the Party of Communists Belarusian Valery Beraziyenka.

Only the human rights activist Barys Bukhel, the head of Mahiliou oblast organization of the BPF Party Ryhor Kostuseu and Valery Beraziyenka were admitted to the joint sitting of these agencies thanks to a personal address to the head of Mahiliou oblast executive committee Barys Batura. No other activists managed to get there despite their written requests to inform them about the date and the place of the sitting.

The authorities chose quite an interesting way of forming the electoral commissions. They stated that they would not include the unemployed and those who are over 75. They also ignored the remark of Barys Bukhel that the proportion of the political forces must be reflected in the choice of the staff for the electoral commissions.

The sitting lasted for 30 minutes. In fact, there was no voting on the candidacies to the electoral commissions. The composition of the electoral commission was not read in public. The present officials just unanimously voted for the list which had been prepared in advance. Human rights activists are going to complain against violation of the order of voting. They did not receive any minutes of the sitting, though they asked about it. Neither did the authorities answer the question where and when the lists of observers could be directed.

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