Mahiliou region: 20 out of 26 election commissions headed by officers of executive committees

Mahiliou region: 20 out of 26 election commissions headed by officers of executive committees

26 district election commissions have been established in the Mahiliou region. There are 78 persons who rule these commissions (each of them has a Chairperson, a Deputy Chairperson and a secretary).

Having analyzed the electoral information, the Mahiliou human rights defenders found out that 38 out of these 78 people are workers of the local executive committees and 3 are representatives of other state organs. Officers of state organs head 77% (20 out of 26) commissions and hold the majority in the government of 2/3 of the commissions (17 out of 26).

Many members of the district election commission work in the sphere of education. Taking into consideration that educational establishments are subordinated to the educational departments of the executive committees it becomes clear that the executive authorities have a direct control over 64% of the leadership of the commissions (50 out of 78 persons).

The human rights defender Barys Bukhel believes that officers of the executive committees can readily implement any order of higher authorities. ‘I intend to appeal against this situation in the regional court. The remaining members of the election commissions are also dependent on the authorities as they are working on labor contracts and depend on their employers,’ said the human rights activist.

Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections