Aleh Hulak: in the majority of cases electoral commissions refused to register people as candidates for formal reasons

Observing the consideration of complaints by the Central election commission, the chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee Aleh Hulak noted that shortcomings of the election laws were revealed during the consideration: ‘The majority of refusals of registration have formal grounds. It is obvious, that many procedures of candidates registration present formal obstacles, that have no relation to ensuring of the right to vote and the right to be elected,’ he said.

‘On 3-4 September the Central Commission on Elections and National Referenda considered complaints of citizens, who hadn’t been registered as MP candidates by constituency election commissions. The CEC received 52 complaints: seven from Mahiliou oblast, eight from Hrodna oblast, five from Homel and Minsk oblasts each, four from Brest oblast, three from Vitsebsk oblast, and 20 complaints from Minsk, the campaign Human Rights Activists for Free Elections reports.

Following the results of the 3–4 September sitting, the CEC adopted decisions to register eight MP candidates: Iryna Yasevich (Vitsebsk-Chkalauskaya constituency #18), Mikhail Silivonets (Zhytkavichy constituency #32), Yury Rubtsou (Homel-Savetskaya constituency #34), Ivan Shcharbakou, Alexander Bukas (Barysau constituency #62), Volha Shokhanava (Autazavadskaya constituency #92, Minsk), Uladzimir Navasiad (Svislachskaya constituency #94, Minsk), Vasil Karankevich (Homel-Savetskaya constituency #34).

Thus, now 284 MP candidates, among them 79 representatives of the United Democratic Forces, out of 365 applicants (five people withdrew) are registered.

The most common grounds for refusal of registration were unreliable information in tax return declarations and signatures annulment. For example, in the case an old car, a bike or a trailer, given on trust 10 years ago, but still registered in traffic police, are not mentioned in a declaration. Signatures were commonly annulled when signature sheets contained signatures of people leaving in different city districts, or signature lists were authorized by a wrong executive committee.