Horki: Law does not exist for pro-governmental candidate

Agents of candidate Andrei Yurkou demand to cancel registration of pro-governmental candidate Tatsiana Asmalouskaya. They have already submitted the official statements to district election commission # 81. The ground for the statements was the meeting of candidate Tatsiana Asmalouskaya with voters in the place which was not determined by the city administration.

“In the evening of September 17th, in dormitory # 6 of the Belarusian Agricultural Academy Tatsiana Asmalouskaya met with voters, -- Andrei Yurkou’s agent Ilya Zaranok says, -- The meeting was organized by vice-rector for upbringing Chachotkin. Representatives of the district election commission were not present. There was no prior information about the meeting.”

Observer Eduard Brokarau managed to attend the meeting. He tried to take pictures, but candidate Tatsiana Asmalouskaya demanded to ban cameras.  Vice-rector for upbringing Chachotkin and the dormitory director illegally forced the observer to leave the meeting.

“For that reason, -- Ilya continues, -- we have already submitted two complaints: one complaint is submitted by the observer to the local commission (Mr. Brokarau, by the way, has already submitted a claim to the district police department about the way he was kicked out from the dormitory), and the second statement is submitted on behalf of candidate Andrei Yurkou. We demand to cancel registration of Ms. Tatsiana Asmalouskaya.”

Ilya points out, Tatsiana Asmalouskaya had held a meeting with voters at the city Palace of Culture that day, before the meeting in the dormitory.  

“In our complaints we refer to the fact, -- Ilya Zaranok points out, that the candidate used the administrative resource and violated Article 73 of the Election Code. Indirectly the unlawfulness of the event is proved by the fact that after appearance of the observer the organizers broke the meeting immediately. When candidate Andrei Yurkou arrived, he did not find either the candidate or the organizers at the place. The meeting also violates ruling # 415 of August 13th, 2008 of Horki rayon administrative committee “About determining rooms for holding meetings with candidates to the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly of the 4th convocation”. According to the ruling, meetings with voters can not be held in student dormitories”.

Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections