Homel: police and election commissions powerless?

The Homel activists of the unregistered Belarusian Christian Democracy party keep drawing the attention of the local police to the numerous violations of the Electoral Code by pro-state candidates. According to the BCD’s Homel regional coordinator Kastus Zhukouski, the leaflets of the party’s candidates are repeatedly posted over by the posters of pro-government candidates. The incidents were reported to the police and the election commissions. ‘Each time were called the police, they drew up a record of the view of the offence spot. But it is still unknown what kind of result this is,’ says Kastus Zhukouski.

According to the activist, today on 22 April, he, together with other activists, caught an unknown person as he was posting a blank sheet of paper over the canvassing leaflet of the BCD coordinator Sviataslau Shapavalau, who is running for the Homel Regional Council. The activists detained the offender and called the police, who once again drew up a record of view of the offence spot. ‘At the same time, I was warned by the constituency election commission for alleged distribution of leaflets without output data, which is false,’ says Mr. Zhukouski.

‘Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections’