The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

14.12.2010 Biaroza: workers are taken to precincts during working hours

The town authorities haven’t invented any new techniques of early voting: workers of the local enterprises are still driven to the election precincts by busses so that they could vote early.

14.12.2010 Detention of electioneering agent of Uladzimir Niakliayeu

Siarhei Vazniak, an electioneering agent of the presidential candidate Uladzimir Niakliayeu, has been detained in Minsk today.

14.12.2010 Homel: independent observer sent away from electoral precinct

An independent observer Uladzimir Anfilau has been sent away from electoral precinct #22 in the Tsemtralny district of Homel.

14.12.2010 Homel: independent observer sent away from electoral precinct

An independent observer Uladzimir Anfilau has been sent away from electoral precinct #22 in the Tsemtralny district of Homel.

14.12.2010 Member of opposition allowed to sign fewer ballots than was promised in presence of OSCE observers

A BPF member Iryna Semianiuk-Smiayan who is a member of precinct election commission #104 in Minsk was promised to be allowed to sign all 2,300 voting papers on Monday. It happened in the presence of OSCE observers. However, she was only allowed to sign 100 ballots on the first day of the early voting.

14.12.2010 Students of Belarusian State University are ordered to vote early

BSU Students have been informed that they must vote early. Future social scientists received the order in the first place – philosophers, psychologists, sociologists and information and communications specialists.

14.12.2010 Early voting has started

More than 6,000 electoral precincts started working all over Belarus at 10 a.m.

14.12.2010 Election of the President of Belarus 2010: Pre-election Monitoring Report on Campaign

The novelties and positive changes, however, did little to decrease the inequality in campaign conditions between the incumbent president and other candidates. As in 2006, Alyaksandr Lukashenka benefitted from the following: • unlimited opportunities for Lukashenka to avail of the state mass media – compared to 2 hours of TV and radio appearances and an opportunity to print 5 pages of text in the main newspapers guaranteed to the other candidates; • targeted criticism of the other candidates in the state mass media – compared to an exclusively complimentary coverage of the incumbent president’s personality and his election programme.

13.12.2010 Salihorsk: haunting of activists of Niakliayeu’s campaign

Salihorsk activists of Niakliayeu’s team complain about obstacles from the side of the law-enforcement agencies and administrations of the state enterprises.

13.12.2010 Vitsebsk: soldiers are ordered to vote early as well

Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections continue receiving information about violations of the electoral legislation. Today we have received an audio recording of a briefing that was held at special mobile brigade #103 by the deputy commandant on ideology.

13.12.2010 Offender of Rymasheuski’s electioneering agent comes off clear

The bully who tore away the campaign posters that were displayed in the authorized locations and tried to beat Vital Rymasheuski’s electioneering agent Valeryia Charnamortsava, was detained over a week ago, but still hasn’t been brought to a trial. Itself the victim this time not only not invited to the court of the Soviet district of the capital, which must review the case, but also to hide from her name forward.