The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for April 2010

05.04.2010 Polatsk district: little information at official websites

Ten days have passed since the registration of candidates for the local Councils of Deputies. However, the lists of the registered candidates still haven't been uploaded to the majority of websites of the local executive committees.

05.04.2010 BPF Youth leader fined for action of solidarity with political prisoners

Andrei Krechka, leader of the BPF Youth, was fined 700,000 rubles by Nadzeya Navitskaya, Judge of the Leninski district court of Minsk, for an action on Kastrychnitskaya Square on the Solidarity Day, 16 March.

02.04.2010 Central Election Commission asks Ministry of Defense to give F.Viachorka furloughs for electoral campaigning

Frantsishak Viachorka, candidate for the Mazyr district Council of Deputies, received an answer from Lidziya Yarmoshyna to his complaint to the Central Election Commission.

02.04.2010 ’Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections’: 31.9% of democratic activists weren’t registered as candidates for the elections

The experts of the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections campaign made a more precise calculation of the percentage of the representatives of the democratic opposition who weren’t registered as candidates for the local Councils of Deputies of the 26th Convocation.

02.04.2010 Brest region: non-alternative elections everywhere but Brest

The elections for the local Councils of Deputies will be non-alternative in the Brest region, as there are almost no independent and opposition candidates competing with the pro-governmental ones anywhere except for Brest.

02.04.2010 Minsk: candidate addresses election commission in connection with early agitation by her rival

The dweller of Minsk Tamara Siarhei addressed the Minsk city election commission with the requirement to consider on the merits of her complaint of 15 March against canvassing for candidate Uladzimir Halaburda ahead of time.

02.04.2010 Head of military enlistment office agreed to debates with independent candidate

Head of military enlistment office agreed to debates with independent candidateIn Salihorsk, representatives of the headquarters of the independent candidate Aliaksei Valabuyeu received a positive answer to their proposal to hold debates between the candidates running at election constituency #13. Valabuyeu’s rival, military commissar, lieutenant-colonel Valer Zainchkouski, agreed to public debates in the Budaunik Culture House.

02.04.2010 Salihorsk dwellers demand a wider coverage of election campaign

Ten dwellers of Salihork addressed the administration of the local TV channel with a written demand to cover the election campaign at a wider scope. The signers of the address are of the opinion that more attention can be paid to the personalities of the candidates and their election programs taking into account that there are only several constituencies where the elections will be alternative.

02.04.2010 Central election commission recommends Salihorsk district executive committee to review its decision

Activists of Aliaksei Valabuyeu’s electoral headquarters have received an answer from the Central Election Commission, in which it is stated that the Salihorsk district executive committee was recommended to review its decision on determination of the places for agitation meetings of candidates for deputies.

02.04.2010 Brest: names of candidates published at last

The registration of candidates for the elections ended on 25 March, but the lists of the candidates for the Brest regional Council of Deputies were published only on 31 March, whereas the timing schedule of the elections, adopted by the Central Election Commission, provides that such information must be published no later than the fourth day after the registration.

02.04.2010 Baranavichy: candidate proved that election commission forged documents during verification of signatures

On 1 April the Brest regional territorial election commission considered at its sitting the complaints of the people who hadn’t been registered as candidate for deputies by the Baranavichy city election commission on 25 March. The city election commission also refused to consider the complaints of the electors who had signed in support of the candidate Dzmitry Auhust, against abuses of members of the commission.

02.04.2010 Brest: candidate for deputy from 'Fair World' summoned to KGB

On 1 April, Zinaida Mikhniuk received a telephone call and was handed a writ to come to the Brest oblast KGB bureau on the same day, for giving some explanations within the guidelines of some check-up.

02.04.2010 Navapolatsk town Council of Deputies is popular with candidates

65 candidates will compete for the 34 deputy seats at the town council, which means that the elections will be alternative in almost all of the appropriate constituencies (only four of them have just one registered candidate).

02.04.2010 Non-alternative elections to take place in 24 out of 60 constituencies for elections to the Homel regional Council of Deputies

60 constituencies were established in the Homel region for the elections to the regional Council of Deputies. The elections will be non-alternative in 24 of them. The regional coalition of the United Democratic Forces hasn’t taken a decision on withdrawal from the elections so far. If such decision is taken, the number of non-alternative constituencies can considerably increase.

02.04.2010 Viktar Ramniou and Volha Karach detained in Vitsebsk

V. Ramniou was detained for 'distribution of the Vitebskiy Kuryer newspaper' and V.Karach – for disobedience to the police. As said by human rights defender Pavel Levinau, Mr. Ramniou was guarded to the Pershamaiski district police department and confiscated 53 copies of the newspaper.