Mahiliou: court turns down complaints of oppositionists
On 10 and
11 November the Kastrychnitski District Court of Mahiliou considered three
lawsuits against the non-inclusion of representatives of the democratic
community in precinct election commissions. The Belarusian Leftist Party sued
against the non-inclusion of 9 representatives, the NGO BPF Adradzhenne – 12, and the Mahiliou Human
Rights Center
- 3 representatives.
According to the human rights defender Barys Bukhel, the Kastrychnitski
District Court granted the petition for presenting information about the places
of work and the official positions of those who were included in the PECs
(unlike the Leninski District Court).
’When we were familiarized with the lists of members of the PECs’,
says Barys Bukhel, ‘it became clear that some members of the PECs were dependent on some others, those who
were their bosses at work.’
The human rights defender is convinced that there were no real reasons not to include
representatives of the democratic forces in the PECs. ‘All of them consist of 14-16 people,
whereas the maximally allowed number is 19,’ commented Mr. Bukhel.
The official reasons for the non-inclusion of these people in the PECs are that some of them are unemployed or work in Minsk or allegedly have
little experience of work in election commissions. What concerns Mr. Bukhel, he
‘writes groundless complaints about actions of members of election commissions’.
The human rights defender points that some people remain members of PECs for 15-20 years
already, which gives Mr. Bukhel a reason to suspect them in involvement in the
rigging of elections.
Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections
