Uladzimir Matskevich: ‘Information stands as archeological monument of democracy’

The posters with information that the elections to the local Councils of Deputies will take place n 25 April have started appearing at some informational stands that were put on the streets within the guidelines of the electoral process. Most of these stands still don’t have any other information.

’Empty informational stands is a visible outcome of the efforts of the Belarusian authorities on minimizing the informational space of the country,’ commented political scientist Uladzimir Matskevich. ‘There are few stands in the city. Such situation is logical for the states where electoral campaigns have a purely decorative function. In Belarus it started in 1995, when the authorities started making everything possible to decrease the informational field of the republic and the public value of the elections.

It is quite strange that neither the political science, nor the democratic community of Belarus pay attention to this fact, because elections are an element in the complicated system of democracy that can function only together with sufficient public information, appropriate financial expenditures and the possibility for candidates to hold a full-scale agitation campaign. In Belarus, all these elements are controlled by the present authorities. Empty informational stands are looking as if they weren’t set for an upcoming event, but were forgotten on the streets after some event. They look as archeological monuments of the past democracy,’ said Mr. Matskevich.

Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections