Elector to seek a meeting with Lidziya Yarmoshyna

The question of the unlawfulness of the agitation action held by the candidate Uladzimir Halaburda ahead of time was considered by the Minsk City Election Commission on 12 April.

However, according to the plaintiff, Tamara Siarhei, the facts she had set forth in the complaint weren’t checked by the commission.

’The Minsk City Election Commission followed the way of the Savetski District Election Commission. It submitted an inquiry to the Minsk-naviny information agency. Naturally, the agency again answered that the edition of Minski Kuryer containing an interview with Uladzimir Halaburda had been distributed within the guidelines of the promotion campaign,’ commented Tamara Siarhei.

The election commission also refused to put down the opinion that Halaburda’s initiative group had violated law by distributing on 12 March leaflets with invitation to an electoral meeting with him.

’The commission just wouldn’t listen to my request to check the evident facts of holding of premature agitation by the candidate’s team,’ says Tamara. ‘At the same time, as I learned from the commission secretary, Uladzimir Halaburda had confessed distribution of the invitations, though he hadn’t put it down in his explanatory note that was presented to the commission.’

Only one member of the election commission, lawyer Siarhei Alfer took the side of the women and attached his personal opinion to the minutes of the commission’s sitting. At present Tamara Siarhei is waiting for a written answer of the commission to her complaint. To all appearance, it will be the same as the previous ones and the commission won’t ‘find any violations of the election legislation in the actions of the candidate’.

Tamara intends to apply to the Central Election Commission and ask about an audience with its chairperson, Lidziya Yarmoshyna. ‘I am absolutely sure that I won’t get the justice in this case, but I will insist that my complaint wasn’t considered on its merits. If I started doing something, I must go all the way,’ added the woman.