No need to keep up appearances

“Electoral campaign in elections to local councils of deputies” has started in Belarus.

Yesterday the Central Election Commission (CEC) gathered and allocated money. They also authorized “Methodical recommendations”.

According to the results of the meeting it was informed that the election would be “fair”, but no international observers would be invited. Besides, Lidziya Yarmoshyna once again was spiting upon parties, recalled the necessity of “will-to-win spirit”, and demonstrated her signature smile to those present.

By the way, the CEC works under the new legislation: the old law on the CEC has lost effect, as Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced on January 4. But the new law turned out to be so nice that the deputy head of the Presidential Administration on legal issues Valery Mitskevich has been able to remain a member of the Central Election Commission. It means that all the vestiges of respectability have been shed, as previously there was no such explicit supervising over the CEC by the Presidential administration. Mitskevich was appointed to the CEC as an experienced law professional, the head of the National Centre of Law project work. But the trick is that he has changed his position since that time. But he remains a member of the CEC. And now he is to invent technologies of victory of pro-regime candidates in the elections by one hemisphere of brain, otherwise he would lose his job, and with the other hemisphere of brain he is to stay impartial, objective and uninterested.

It must be said that novels can be composed about impartibility of the CEC members. Volumes could be composed. I elect simply to say nothing about Yarmoshyna, who is a pensioner since 2008 (don’t we have young people in the country?). To my mind, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said everything about her when he admitted that he gave an order to rewrite results of the presidential election in 2006, which is a criminal offence by the way. It is not denied even by the Prosecutor’s office. But it cannot believe the president’s sincere acknowledgement, and Prosecutor General Vasilevich does not have “other documents about misrepresentation of the results of the presidential election 2006”.

Not only Yarmoshyna, the entire CEC is absolutely independent in our country. For instance, the long-term secretary of the commission Mikalai Lazavik. Do you remember what happened to all those deputies of the Supreme Soviet who in 1996 signed the address to the Constitutional Court to impeach Alyaksandr Lukashenka? Communist Lazavik signed it too. But he was among the first ones who withdrew the signature. As his former colleagues told, he beseeched on knees to cross out his name. He was expelled from the Communist party of Belarus for betrayal. But he is cherished by the regime. Despite of the fact that the new law reads that as a rule, members of the CEC should have a degree in law, an exception has been made for a mechanic engineer, political analyst and economist Lazavik.

Natallya Bushnaya, a director of Minsk high school number 1 is an exception too. She is not a lawyer, but a mathematician born in Mahilyou. She became a member of the CEC in 2007, maybe for nobody to confuse per cents of votes any more.

Vasily Bushik, a philosopher, Provost for Research in the Teachers Training University. He is a nice person certainly, and he has nothing to lose. Like Svyatlana Katsuba, a lawyer, Economic Law Department Chairman of P.O. Sukhoj Homel State Technical University.

And now a person well-known to many candidates: Nadzeja Kisyalyova, the head of the procedural and institutional department of the CEC. If you don’t remember, she was also among those who in 1996 noticed no violations in the fact that the president dismissed the head of the CEC Viktar Hanchar, who could be dismissed only by the Supreme Soviet according to the Constitution. And then the new commission formed by him, with Kisyalyova as its member helped Lukashenka to win the scandalous referendum on privileges of a tsar. Such a militant lady certainly could not but become a Honoured Jurist of Belarus.

And then a full bunch of “independent persons”. Alyaksandr Kalyada – the head of the main directorate of organisational work and personnel management of Brest regional executive committee. Maryja Rakhmanava, deputy head of the administration, the head of the department of work with citizens’ addresses of Hrodna regional executive committee. Ivan Shchurok, the head of the educational department of Vitsebsk regional executive committee. Aleh Slizheuski, the head of the department of public associations of the Justice Ministry. No comments. They have nothing to lose at all. Except good salaries, snug offices, a status of a chief official, and a pension much higher than ordinary mortals’ pension in the future. In short, they will serve hand and foot.

The only person among the CEC members who formally does not belong to government institutions is the top advisor of the chairman of the republican public association “Belarusian Scientific and Manufacturing association” Eduard Padalyak. However there is a hidden rock here. Padalyak is a former deputy director general of MAZ, once he flew to Geneva with Pyatkevich and Kabyakou to fight off claims of the International Labour Organisation against Belarus. Is everything clear now?

Well, the election campaign starts… By the way, I haven’t understood why to elect one president the state pays double as compared to electing a cloud of deputies of local councils. 19.5 billion Br is allocated to local elections, while 37 billion to presidential elections. Even mathematician Bushnaya is unlikely to explain that.