Statement of BPF Board on Results of Formation of Circuit Electoral Commissions

The Board of the BPF Party states that only 6 out of 78 candidates to membership in circuit electoral commissions that were nominated by the BPF Party were included into circuit electoral commissions, which is about 7,7% from the proposed number.

The BPF Board is of the opinion that such decision of the power organs that deal with formation of the electoral commissions witnesses their strong intention to escape the control of the work of the commissions by politically active and democratically minded part of society. The results of the formation of the circuit electoral commissions again demonstrate the unwillingness of Belarusian authorities to abide by generally accepted democratic procedures during preparation and holding of elections and their intention to have the possibility to illegally deny registration to the undesired candidates to deputy positions and to falsify the results of the election results on the stage of calculation of votes.

The BPF Board also considers these results as evidence that the authorities are aware of their weakness and unpopularity in the society, as the non-admission of the regime’s opponents to participation in the procedure of summarization of the election results speaks for their doubts that the ”official candidates” will manage to win honestly.

The Board of the BPF Party believes that such step of the authorities is one more challenge for the universal democratic community and mockery in response to the “Edinburgh treaty”, signed by representatives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly. One can’t give any other explanation to the fact that six BPF participants (one per each region of Belarus) were included into the commissions, by which the literal demands of the agreement were executed and the essence of these demands was ignored. With such a small number of representatives the party is deprived of the possibility to take active part in the work of the most important electoral organs.

Despite of the fact that the results of the formation of the circuit electoral commissions evidently demonstrate the reluctance of the authorities of Belarus to provide the equality of chances, transparence and democratic order of the election to the Chamber of Representatives, the BPF Party is determined to participate in this measure which is one of the rare possibilities to legally contact the majority of the country’s population and communicate to it our views and ideas in the conditions of authoritarian neo-Soviet regime.

The Board of the BPF Party

Mensk, 2 August 2004