The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for 26 Apr 2010

26.04.2010 No real elections in Homel region, says local Pro-Dem Coalition

Representatives of the Homel Regional Coalition of the United Pro-Democratic forces report mass rigging of the local election results at a press-conference on 26 April.

26.04.2010 Activists of Russia’s Oborona detained in Minsk

Three activists of the Russian ‘Oborona’ movement were detained by the police outside the Belarusian Popular Front’s central office in downtown Minsk. The activists were forced into a police bus. Their current whereabouts are not known.

26.04.2010 Free Youth activists detained

Two activists of the Free Youth movement Vika Ladzis and Aliaksandr Baradzinchyk were detained by the police in Minsk, ahead of the Chernobyl Shliakh demonstration due later this evening, the Nasha Niva newspaper reports.

26.04.2010 Salihorsk: hidden vote count

Two different approaches to vote counting were shown by the election commission of two various polling stations, located at Salihorsk’s school #5.

26.04.2010 Orsha: candidate not allowed observing vote count

An instance of blatant violation of the Electoral Code was recorded at Orsha’s election commission #6. Aliaksandr Kaminski, BPF member, running for the Orsha Town Council, was not allowed observing the vote counting and forced to leave the premises by the police.

26.04.2010 Taisa Kabanchuk: case closed

Mahiliou Regional Transport Prosecutor’s Office ruled to terminate the criminal prosecution of Taisa Kabanchuk, leader of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Mahiliou regional office.

26.04.2010 Babruisk: strange calculations by commission members

The members of the election commission at Babruisk’s polling station #14 reportedly rigged the voting results, says candidate Yauhen Vaskovich, who had seen a paper drawn up by the commission members, saying that several hundred ballots were gone. However, after the vote counting the ballots were suddenly found.

26.04.2010 Hlybokaye district: votes counted separately, results not announced

Zmitser Lupach, representative of the unregistered Belarusian Christian Democracy Party, observed the vote counting at constituency #17 in the village Dzerkaushchyna, Hlybokaye district, and claims that although the commission members counted the ballots for early votes separately, they failed to announce the final results to the observers.

26.04.2010 Verkhniadzvinsk: number of invalid ballots reaches record figure

The results of vote counting in the town of Verkhniadzvinsk turned out to be rather strange. A huge number of ‘spoilt ballots’ were found at the polling stations with candidates representing the Belarusian Social Democratic Party ‘Hramada’ – up to 120 per station.

26.04.2010 Siarhei Vazniak: ‘I am shocked by the futility of such observation’

Member of the Minsk City Election Commission Siarhei Vazniak visited a number of the city’s polling stations and arrived at a decision that the maintenance of vote counting does arouse much trust in the its results and renders the observation absolutely futile.

26.04.2010 Election campaigning by candidates for deputies of Local Councils of Deputies of the 26th convocation. Analysis and Trends.

According to Art. 45 of the Electoral Code, the citizens of the Republic of Belarus, political parties and other public associations, work collectives, the candidates’ proxies have the right to free and full discussion of the election programs of candidates, their political, business and personal qualities, to campaigning for or against a candidate at meetings, rallies, through media, as well as during meetings with voters.