The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for April 2010

25.04.2010 Minsk: results of separate vote count not announced

According to Belarusian Popular Front observers Anton Koipish and Aliaksei Khadyka, the election commission of Minsk’s polling station #73 of constituency #43 failed to count and announce the number of unused ballots.

25.04.2010 Mahiliou: human rights activist Kolchyn turned out of polling station

The human rights activist Aliaksei Kolchyn was ordered to leave Mahiliou’s polling station #12 five minutes after the count of votes started, despite his official accreditation as an observer, representing the Mahiliou Human Rights Center.

25.04.2010 Mahiliou: unused ballots began to be counted half-hour before end of voting

The members of the election commission at Mahiliou’s polling station #59 began to count the unused ballots half an hour before the official end of voting, says Zmitser Salauyou, leader of the BPF ‘Adradzhennie’ city office.

25.04.2010 CEC secretary Lazavik: ‘If you are not let inside territorial commission, they will be right’

Article 13 of the Electoral Code states the open and public nature of the elections. Observer Siarhei Housha, considering his previous experience, when he was not allowed visiting the Branavichy territorial election commission, decided to inquire about the issue in advance.

25.04.2010 Brest: ballot boxes for early vote and portable boxes carried out of polling station

Observer Siarhei Vakulenka claims that the ballots boxes, as well as the portable boxes, were carried out of Brest’s polling station #55. As a result, neither the observers nor the election commission members could for some time observe their safety.

25.04.2010 Observer Piatrouski turned out of polling station by police

Viktar Piatrouski, observer at polling station #57 of Minsk’s Chyhunachnaya constituency #20 and a proxy to the candidate Mikhas Pashkevich, was forced to leave the polling station by the police, on order by the local election commission’s chair Vasil Aveniuk. The official refused to provide any explanations for the decision and ordered to turn the observer out of the polling station.

25.04.2010 Aliaksei Valabuyeu’s proxy threatened by observers from Cossacks’ Union

Ivan Shyla, proxy to Aliaksei Valabuyeu, running for the Salihorsk Town Council, as well as the candidate’s campaign team activist Andrus Tychyna, were threatened with violence by observers, representing the Union of Cossacks. The observers also used foul language and ordered the activists to leave the polling station. Meanwhile, the incident was not stopped by the police.

25.04.2010 Vitsebsk: standard violations

The voting in Vitsebsk polling stations is reported to be accompanied by the same violations as in the previous elections: ballots are given without IDs, polling booths are occupied by more than one person at a time, places for observers do not enable them to maintain efficient observation of the voting process, information on candidates lacks data on their incomes.

25.04.2010 Strange but true: 4 candidates from village of Chysts are members of election commissions

Today, it turned out that four candidates for the Chysts village council (Siarhei Miroshnikau, Halina Kurylovich, Alena Ulchyts and Stanislau Bazhko) are at the same time members of various divisional elections commissions.

25.04.2010 Babruisk: several hundred ballots disappear from polling station

Yauhen Vaskovich, Babruisk member of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party, running for the town council, says several hundred ballots ‘disappeared’ from polling station #14.

25.04.2010 Minsk: Canvassing for ‘loyal’ candidate inside voting booth

The polling stations of Minsk’s Chyhunachnaya constituency #20 prompt the ‘right’ choice to voters by transparent hinting. The ballot box samples have invented names of candidates, which, nonetheless, very much resemble the candidates’ real names.

25.04.2010 Brest: residents of 298 apartments not included on voters’ lists

Mr. Matuz, living at 101 Suvorov St. in Brest, discovered the block of flats, as well as house #101A, was not included on the voters’ lists. In total, residents of 298 apartments were not invited to the polling station.

25.04.2010 Mahiliou: BCD candidate detained after she caught election commission member rigging vote results

Ms. Marya Kulmanava, Belarusian Christian Democracy member, running for the Mahiliou City and Regional Councils, took two marked ballots from an election commission member.

25.04.2010 Mahiliou: candidate summoned by KGB on voting day

Today, on 25 April, Aliaksandr Irkho, leader of the local committee of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada), running for the Mahiliou City Council, received a summons to the local KGB department. The writ does not mention whether the candidate is a witness or a suspect.

25.04.2010 Commissions should provide separate results for early vote, says CEC

Numerous observers say the announcement of voting results is quite differently treated by various election commissions. At some of the polling stations, the commission chairs say they are going to announce separate results for early vote, ballot boxes for ‘home vote’ and those used on the day of the election. Others claim the law does not require separate results.