Social democrats may refuse to run in election
1- 18.07.2008, 14:42
Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada) heading by Stanislau Shushkevich may refuse to run in the parliamentary election.
A special statement of the party executive committee says it, Radio Svaboda reports.
“Hypocritical attitude of the authorities and the Central Election Commission won’t leave a way for us except for that of refusing to take part in a farce, the authorities want to name elections,” the documents says.
The statement also notes the BSDP as well as other democratic parties and non-governmental organisations sent proposals to include its representatives in district electoral commissions. But the local administrations didn’t allow many famous people, able to make the elections free and fair, to electoral commissions.
The BSDP executive committee thinks, “It, as an earlier refusal of the CEC to consider the proposals on crating the conditions for fair votes counting in the frames of the present laws, can’t be viewed other than preparation for total rigging the election results in favour of the current authorities.”
It should be reminded that the leaders of the opposition parties of Belarus discussed the results of formation district electoral commissions. Their estimation of this stage of the campaign of elections for the “house of representatives” is negative. Participants of the session say the results of formation of commissions were humiliating for the opposition.
Viktar Karnyaenka, coordinator of the campaign “For Free and Fair Elections”, reminded that the reqierements of the political parties to the Belarusian authorities were minimal – they wanted every commission to include an opposition representative. In real fact, only 35 candidates of the united list of political parties (and 42 opposition representatives) got only 35 places in 110 districts.
“Former MPs, namely Syamdzyanau, Holubeu, Barshcheuski and others, weren’t included in the commissions. Former ministers Sasnou and Kazlouski as well as former head of state Stanislau Shushkevich weren’t put on the list, too. They authorities also decided the latter isn’t’ worthy to be a member of a district electoral commission,” the politician said.
