Hrodna Regional Court dismisses appeal of Ivan Kruk against registration denial

The court turned down the appeal of the Astravets civil society activist Ivan Kruk against the refusal of the election commission to register him as a candidate for the Astravets District Council.

On March 6, Judge Liudmila Maliuchok, having listened to the sides, supported the position of the election commission. At the trial, the interests of the Astravets District Election Commission were presented by its secretary Alena Hrabouskaya, and the interestes of the Hrodna Regional Election Commission – by its secretary, Iosif Hrybouski. The trial was also attended by Chair of the Astravets District Election Commission Eduard Sviryd. By the way, Mr. Sviryd is a representative of “Belaya Rus”, journalist which heads the informational group propagating the construction of the nuclear power plant in Astravets.

February 20, Astravets District Election Commission didn't register Ivan Kruk as a candidate in Central election constituency No. 1 after checking the signatures in his support. A part of the signatures were declared invalid, as the date of the signature allegedly wasn't put in the hand of the electors. Two citizens, Falevich and Tsybulski, also confirmed having not signed in the signature sheets. Ivan Kruk, in his turn, stated that he collected the signatures on his own and didn't violate any laws. He is sure that the voters were pressurized by members of the commission and various state officials, as a result of which they refused from their signatures. The regional commission, which considered his appeal on February 28, supported the position of the district commission.

At the trial, Mr. Kruk applied for holding a handwriting expertise, which was strongly opposed by the defendants, as well as by prosecutor Aniskavets. As a result, Judge Maliuchok rejected the motion. After the dinner break, she dismissed the lawsuit of Mr. Kruk. The activist intends to appeal the verdict to the Chair of the Hrodna Regional Court and apply to the prosecutor's office.

It's worth noting that all registered candidates in the Astravets district will run unopposed – there are exactly 25 candidates at 25 election constituencies.

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