Formation of precinct election commissions in Babruisk

Two representatives of the civil association Belarusian Popular Front Adradzhenne had to take away their applications for nomination to precinct commissions. Yauhen Herasimovich, locksmith of the Belshyna Open Stock Company had to do it because of pressurization from the side of the plant administration, and Mikita Uvarau, student of the Olympic reserve school, had to obey the demands of the school administration.

The Babruisk human rights defenders believe that all candidacies to the local precinct election commissions were considered by the ideological department of the Babruisk town executive committee. The compositions of the precinct commissions were approved at the sittings of the state agencies that are responsible for the formation of the commissions, but none of the persons present had the opportunity to familiarize with the lists of members of the commissions, their applications or minutes of the sittings.

As present it is known that no democratic activists were included in the precinct commissions situated on the territory of the Pershamaiski district of Babruisk. Civil activist Alena Miadzvedzeva said that Mikhail Zholudau, Chairperson of the Pershamaiski district executive committee of Babruisk, stated at the sitting on the formation of the precinct election commissions that 60% of the people who were included in the commissions had worked in them before.

'I asked why I wasn't included in the commission, and Mikhail Zholudau answered that I filed my application to late. My application is dated 7 March, and they gave preference to the nominees who applied on 5 March. It's quite a strange criterion for choosing commission members… By the way, Zholudau several times repeated that many of those included in the commissions were representatives of civil associations and parties, but I heard only about the Belarusian Republican Youth Union and pro-governmental communists,' Alena Miadzvedzeva says.

A total of 56 election precincts were established in the Pershamaiski district. The precinct commissions consist of 19 members if more than 2,000 live on the territory of the precinct, and 16 persons – if the number of electors is smaller.

Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections