Authorities preparing another ballot-rigging?

Lidziya Yarmoshyna, head of the Central Election Commission, has declared today proposals of the democratic forces on holding the autumn parliamentary elections, were impracticable.

“If the authorities don’t accept the suggestions of the opposition on holding the parliamentary elections, it means they are preparing rigging election results,” Viktar Ivashkevich, deputy head of the Belarusian Popular Front party, said to the Charter’97 press center.

“New political prisoners in Belarus, breaking up of the demonstration on 25 March, attacks against independent journalists, tenfold increase in rental of premises for non-governmental organisations – it is the evidence that Lukashenka’s regime has chosen the way of open confrontation, and is not going to listen to the opinion of the West,” Viktar Ivashkevich thinks.

“The suggestions of the opposition are the least it can do. We didn’t even raise a question on changing of election laws. These are instruction that can be easily fulfilled. They come under Yarmoshyna’s cognizance. But if the regime doesn’t have such a desire, it means it has chosen a way of open confrontation with the whole civilised world,” Ivashkevich is sure.

The BPF deputy head reminded that the democrats had offered the authorities to allow opposition representatives to be present in electoral commissions, give an opportunity to independent observers to be present during ballot counting, afford equal opportunities for access to the state-owned media.

“The main thing is that we will be allowed to be present at vote count. But if the authorities don’t want to allow us to vote count, they are apparently preparing another falsification,” Ivashkevich supposes.