Courts keep issuing predictable verdicts
Biaroza: ‘There are no violations in the formation of precinct
commissions by the Biaroza District Executive Committee’
The Biaroza District Court considered the lawsuit of the Brest regional
organization of the Belarusian Popular Front against the non-inclusion of its
representatives in precinct election commissions. The Chairperson of the court
Vadzim Mazol told the details of the consideration of the case materials. As a
result the present public managed to get some more information about the
formation of PECs
in the Biaroza district.
As it was found during the sitting, some other nominees hadn’t been included in
the commissions as well. In particular, A.Viarokha, one of the two nominees of
the Belarusian Union of Women to the commission, wasn’t included in PEC#2, (as
well as the BPF nominee Tatsiana Tarasevich). What concerns other PECs where
BPF representatives were nominated: 3 people weren’t included in PEC #3, 3 more
– in PEC #4, 5 – in PEC #5, 4 – in PEC #10 and as many as 6 – at PEC #11 (all
nominees but the BPF nominee Tamara Shchapiotkina (also nominated by collecting
electors’ signatures) were nominated by different subdivisions of the Biaroza
District Hospital). 4 people weren’t included in PEC #16, 3 – in PEC #17 and 3
– in PEC #29. However, Mr. Mazol didn’t tell whether there were as many
nominees to the PECs
where opposition representatives weren’t proposed.
The trial ended predictably enough: the claims of the Brest regional BPF organization were turned
down. Judge V.Mazol included in the verdict large quotations from the Electoral
Code, as a result of which the reading of the verdict took quite much time.
Brest: courts reject complaints of the
regional organization of the United Civil Party
According to the head of the Brest regional UCP organization Mikalai Koush, the
reason for filing the lawsuits was that the Maskouski and the Leninski district
executive committees had included in PECs only 3 out of the 13 nominees of the
party.
However, on 6 November the Maskouski and the Leninski district courts dismissed
the claims. The UCP activists consider it as evidence of the preparation of another
‘elegant victory’ for the incumbent Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
Orsha: court declined the appeals
against the formation of PECs
Representatives of the Belarusian Leftist Party Fair World didn’t manage to get the court abolish the decisions of
the Orsha town and the Orsha district executive committees concerning the
formation of the precinct election commissions.
As Human Rights Defenders for Free
Elections have already informed, 5 representatives of the Fair World hadn’t been included in the
PECs in Orsha and 4 more – in the Orsha district.
At the trials, the state officials didn’t deny haven’t discussed the
candidacies for membership at the commissions at their sitting and argued that
they had discussed them in advance. However, the court took the opinion that
such ‘preliminary discussions’ don’t violate the electoral legislation and
turned the claims down.
As it follows from the court verdict, the sittings on the formation of PECs are a mere
formality, and it doesn’t even contradict to the law.
Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections
