The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for 28 Sep 2008

28.09.2008 Central electoral commission says the turnout is 75,3%

According to the Central electoral commission, the turnout at the elections to the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus is 75,3%.

28.09.2008 Mahiliou: observer Barys Bukhel gets expelled from polling station

The election observer Barys Bukhel has been expelled from polling station #95 of electoral constituency #86 in Mahiliou. He was expelled for an attempt to make a photo of counting of votes by members of the electoral commission.

28.09.2008 Interesting results at polling station #14 in Minsk village constituency

The counting of votes is already over at polling station #14 of Minsk village constituency. According to the official information, 1 571 electors voted. It is quite interesting that 346 of them voted against all candidates.

28.09.2008 Hrodna: secrecy of poll

According to the information of Siarhei Malchyk, a proxy of a candidate at Hrodna-Tsentralnaya electoral constituency #50 Siarhei Antusevich, nothing has changed in the procedure of vote counting since the previous electoral campaign. Members of electoral commissions pass the information about the results of their calculation of votes to the heads of the commissions, without making any announcements. Independent observers and representatives of wide public have no opportunity to control the ‘calculations’ performed by the heads of commissions. Even members of the commissions cannot check whether their numbers are calculated right. So, heads of electoral commissions have great possibilities for forging the results of voting.

28.09.2008 No separate vote counting in Baranavichy and Zhlobin

According to the observer Ales Slabatsin, who monitors the elections at polling station #1 of Baranavichy village constituency #7, violations of the electoral laws started with the beginning of counting of votes. The head of the electoral commission Mikalai Hryniuk ordered to open all ballot boxes. When the observer demanded that the commission conducted separate counting of votes, as it is required by the law, the head of the commission answered: ‘It is not demanded from us’.

28.09.2008 Vitsebsk: Strange migration of constituency commissions

Till the afternoon of 28 September the electoral commission of Vitsebsk-Chkalauskaya constituency #18 was situated at secondary school #45 in Vitsebsk. However, in the afternoon the commission disappeared from the school. No information about it was published in the mass media and the reasons were not explained.

28.09.2008 Baranavichy: members of electoral commissions tour villages and ‘catch’ electors

According to the information of Ales Slabatsin, observer of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee Ales Slabadzin, three groups of members of the electoral commission of polling station #1 of Baranavichy village constituency #7 simultaneously drove away for a ‘tour’ across villages.

28.09.2008 New ways to prevent protests in Kastrychnitskaya Square

At present one can come to Kastrychnitskaya Square in the center of Minsk quite easy. There are no police cordons. During the presidential elections’2006 the square was turned into a skating rink. This time eight decorative constructions have been put there. They occupy one third of the square’s territory. The constructions consist of iron columns with flowerpots on the top and improvised flowerbed on the bottom. Now the center of the square is a large decorative flowerbed, and two other flowerbeds stand in a small distance from the first one.

28.09.2008 Mahiliou: is member of precinct commission ill with dipsomania?

Ales Paplyka, election observer at precinct #54 of Mahiliouskaya constituency #85 noticed inadequate behavior of a member of the precinct commission. He suspected that he was in the state of alcoholic inebriation and started registering this incident. His guess was supported by an observer of the Belarusian Popular Front Vital Makaranka, who started composing an appropriate act as well. In response the head of the commission explained that the member of the commission was not drunk, he was just feeling unwell and an ambulance would soon come to take him away.

28.09.2008 Samples of laudatory reports about the elections has been prepared for Minsk observers

According to Ales Lahvinets (an unregistered candidate at Sukharauskaya electoral constituency #102) at polling stations #369 and #371 of this constituency the observers of pro-governmental organizations and working collectives have received samples of laudatory reports about the parliamentary elections for international observers. In such statements the ‘observers’ must state that there were no violations during the procedure of voting, the election was conducted publicly and transparently and the conditions for monitoring were the best that one could imagine.

28.09.2008 Drahichyn: Dead man wants to vote at home

An observer reported about the results of monitoring of the process of home voting at precinct #1 in Drahichyn electoral constituency #10. Some of the 70 people who allegedly ‘wanted’ to vote at home could not do it even if they really wanted to: in one case a family had moved to Russia a year ago, and in another the voter who allegedly wanted to vote at home, was already dead.

28.09.2008 Belaaziorsk: proxy gets expelled from polling station

Election observer Ihar Salavei, a proxy of a candidate for deputy Yury Hubarevich, has been expelled from polling station #16, situated at secondary school #3 in Belaaziorsk (Biaroza electoral constituency #9).

28.09.2008 Tendency remains the same: observers cannot receive information

No information is given to observer Volha Kulazhyna at polling station #24 of electoral constituency #84.

28.09.2008 Agitation continues?

According to the information of Siarhei Kuzmianok, a candidate at Hrodna-Zaniomanskaya electoral constituency #49, agitation for the head of Hrodna city executive committee Aleaxander Antonenka (pro-governmental candidate) continues. For instance, the agitation production of Antonenka continues hanging at secondary school #20 on the Election Day.

28.09.2008 List of home-voters was composed without electors’ applications

Anatol Paplauny, observer at polling station #8 of Homel-Pramyslovaya electoral constituency, states that the list for home voting had been prepared by the electoral commission in advance.