News on the topic: elections-2015
24.09.2015 BAJ releases second monitoring on media coverage of presidential election
The monitoring summarises the findings of the second stage of the monitoring, i.e. between 1 September and 20 September, 2015. According to the schedule of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus, it was during this time span that the CEC finished checking the voters’ signatures endorsing potential presidential hopefuls; the candidates were formally registered and launched their campaigns.
24.09.2015 Brest activists ask for more accessibility at polling stations
Representatives of the civil initiative Social Office have sent petitions to the territorial election commissions in Brest, asking to improve access for the physically handicapped persons at the city’s polling stations.
24.09.2015 Observers can record audio and video only if election committees allow it
Observers can record audio and video only if election committees allow it, CEC chairperson Lidziya Yarmoshyna replied to the Movement For Freedom.
24.09.2015 Prosecutors ignore expulsion of activist from election commission in Viciebsk
According to Valery Misnikau, he has written to the Viciebsk City Prosecutor's Office to complain of his expulsion from the city’s precinct commission No. 17. He was included in the commission on August 16. However, his name was not among the commission members, he said.
23.09.2015 Valiantsin Stefanovich: “We all know what elections in Belarus come to”
The European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs held yesterday a hearing on the situation in Belarus, which was attended by Gunnar Wiegand, European External Action Service (EEAS) Director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation and OSCE, and Miklós Haraszti, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus. Valiantsin Stefanovich, deputy chairman of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", highlighted in his speech a number of issues, focusing on the presidential election scheduled for October 11.
23.09.2015 Strict information diet: Why CEC hides its decisions?
The Central Election Commission fails to publish all of its rulings, says Barys Bukhel, a human rights activist in Mahilioŭ. According to him, he first paid attention to the problem during the 2010 presidential election and nothing has changed since then.
22.09.2015 Homieĺ: Students and professors excused from lectures to attend meeting with Lukashenka’s trustee
On September 22, the Homieĺ-Raton free trade zone hosted a meeting with Chairman of the Homieĺ Regional Executive Committee, Uladzimir Dvornik, who spoke as a trustee of presidential candidate Aliaksandr Lukashenka with the rectors, professors and students of local universities.
22.09.2015 Bialyničy: Administrative resources used to arrange meetings with Lukashenka’s trustee
On September 17, Iryna Akulovich, a trustee of presidential candidate Aliaksandr Lukashenka and head of the state broadcasting company “Mahilioŭ”, visited Bialyničy district to take part in a series of meetings with voters.
21.09.2015 Analytical report on the results of weekly observation: September 14-20
Observation of the election of the President of Belarus is carried out by activists of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center "Viasna" in the framework of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections".
21.09.2015 Local authorities in Brest region advertise meetings with Lukashenka’s election activists only
The official websites of a number of district executive committees in Brest region have announced upcoming campaigning events by Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s election headquarters.
21.09.2015 OSCE observers visit Smarhoń
Tereza Ambrazhova and Sergey Ermakov, long-term observers of the OSCE mission in Belarus, have visited the town of Smarhoń, Hrodna region. They visited the district election commission and met with local human rights activist and long-term observer Ales Dzerhachou.
18.09.2015 Viciebsk Prosecutor’s Office launches probe into reports on coercion to vote for Lukashenka
Tatsiana Seviarynets, an activist of the Belarusian Christian Democracy’s branch in Viciebsk, has been summoned to the Regional Prosecutor’s Office, after the BCD’s website published a report alleging that the parents of pupils of local school No. 38 were forced to sign a written promise to vote for Aliaksandr Lukashenka in the upcoming election scheduled for October 11.
18.09.2015 Government-run TV channel launches telethon to campaign for Lukashenka
The Belarusian public is not surprised by the fact that one of the presidential candidates, the acting head of state Aliaksandr Lukashenka, does not appear on TV with his election program or meets with the voters. In reality, the incumbent simply does not care about election campaigning, as he can safely entrust this to others.
16.09.2015 Mahilioŭ: No signs of activity on sixth day of campaigning
According to local human rights defenders, there have been no campaigning activities in Mahilioŭ, as six days have passed since election campaigning was officially allowed in the city.
15.09.2015 Human rights activists are asked to check the calls upon the leadership of "Belaruśkali" to participate in the election and early voting
"Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” have filed an appeal to the Minsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, Salihorsk Regional Prosecutor's Office and Salihorsk District Department of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus, appealing against the actions of the leadership of a large state enterprise “Belaruśkali” (“Belarusian Potassium”) that demanded that the heads of its structural subdivisions ensure the turnout and voting of workers at the upcoming presidential elections, which was registered on video.
